Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 8,587 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Primecap Management Co. CA reduced its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,370,898 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,587 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $532,196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth approximately $292,000. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 116.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 11,246 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,366,000 after acquiring an additional 6,046 shares in the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 38.8% in the 2nd quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,699 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $660,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Portfolios Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $208,000. Finally, Purus Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 133.4% in the 2nd quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,039 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,180,000 after buying an additional 1,737 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $546.75 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $511.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $431.86. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $596.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $255.87 billion, a PE ratio of 28.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.17 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 31.01%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total value of $6,034,465.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,649 shares in the company, valued at $4,874,576.40. The trade was a 55.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 8,184 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.18, for a total transaction of $4,666,353.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 41,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,669,312.16. The trade was a 16.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 86,229 shares of company stock worth $43,323,118 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $560.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $570.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $506.00 to $581.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on Caterpillar from $408.00 to $569.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $600.94.

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.