Taylor Financial Group Inc. Trims Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Taylor Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,779 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 26 shares during the period. Taylor Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc raised its position in Caterpillar by 49.2% during the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Harbor Asset Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $34,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Melius upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America raised their price target on Caterpillar from $517.00 to $594.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $447.00 to $502.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $518.19.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.8%

Caterpillar stock opened at $527.12 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $246.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.46. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $544.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $466.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $401.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.57 billion during 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%.Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.99 earnings per share. 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.72%.

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.