First Horizon Advisors Inc. Lowers Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lessened its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 15.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,227 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Csenge Advisory Group lifted its position in Caterpillar by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 5,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,018,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 20,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,779,000 after acquiring an additional 2,073 shares during the period. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the second quarter. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,124 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,930,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. TKG Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.0% during the second quarter. TKG Advisors LLC now owns 6,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,503,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowroot Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,110,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,985 shares of company stock worth $25,559,300. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Melius upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $729.00 price target (up previously from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $588.94.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $569.33 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $596.21. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $486.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $414.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market cap of $266.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The business had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.17 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Caterpillar 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.