Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Orion Capital Management LLC

Orion Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 14.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 115 shares during the quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 426.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC now owns 721 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 5,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,151,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Darden Wealth Group Inc purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $208,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.3% in the second quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,897 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,783,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 9.3% during the second quarter. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. now owns 4,826 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,874,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $522.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $464.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $399.24. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $544.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $244.61 billion, a PE ratio of 26.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.46.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.72%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total value of $8,673,808.14. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 448,173 shares in the company, valued at $226,457,335.17. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,985 shares of company stock worth $25,559,300 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Melius Research raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $425.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Melius upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $540.00 to $612.00 in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $480.00 to $513.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $518.19.

Caterpillar Company Profile

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.