Sigma Planning Corp Cuts Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Sigma Planning Corp trimmed its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CATFree Report) by 9.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,456 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,355 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $15,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,420 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,844,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Juno Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $877,000. DSG Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth about $1,226,000. Cornerstone Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,517,000. Finally, Ticino Wealth purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,488,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total transaction of $14,399,860.54. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 52,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,631,913.85. The trade was a 22.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 360 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $906.00, for a total value of $326,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $480,180. The trade was a 40.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 95,773 shares of company stock worth $87,642,635. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CAT. Argus upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $820.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $670.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $769.00 to $879.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $1,050.00 to $1,155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $700.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $980.57.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on CAT

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE CAT opened at $933.48 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $932.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $788.43. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $403.02 and a 12 month high of $1,073.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $429.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CATGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The firm had revenue of $17.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.25 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.06%.

Caterpillar Profile

(Free Report)

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off?highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT)

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