Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. Takes $231,000 Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 595 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Compass Financial Services Inc grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% in the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Maseco LLP purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction of $902,649.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.65, for a total transaction of $7,941,849.90. Following the sale, the chairman owned 465,339 shares in the company, valued at $215,289,088.35. This represents a 3.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,819 shares of company stock worth $16,885,492. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $486.86 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $505.59. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $439.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $380.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.99 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Melius Research raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $495.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $495.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $466.53.

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.