Tufton Capital Management Has $9.70 Million Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Tufton Capital Management lowered its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,988 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 584 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar comprises 1.8% of Tufton Capital Management’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $9,700,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aire Advisors LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the second quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 9,042 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,510,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 0.5% in the second quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,954 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,923,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 0.9% in the second quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,669 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Tsfg LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 9.8% in the second quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 279 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 1.2% in the second quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly 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 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 Caterpillar 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $570.03 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $596.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $481.17 and its 200-day moving average is $411.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $267.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.26, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The company’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.17 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $450.00 to $506.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Melius raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $560.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $579.81.

About Caterpillar

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.