Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Mutual Advisors LLC

Mutual Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 487 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $7,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CAT. Compass Financial Services Inc raised its stake in Caterpillar by 49.2% in the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth $45,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total transaction of $8,673,808.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 448,173 shares in the company, valued at $226,457,335.17. This represents a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock worth $25,559,300 in the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on CAT. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Caterpillar from $447.00 to $502.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Melius Research raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $450.00 to $506.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $501.47.

Caterpillar Trading Up 4.8%

NYSE CAT opened at $528.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $247.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.89, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.46. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $446.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $386.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $531.56.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.99 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.72%.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.