Caterpillar Inc. $CAT is Conning Inc.’s 5th Largest Position

Conning Inc. trimmed its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 100,324 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,061 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar comprises 1.3% of Conning Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $38,947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 10.0% in the second quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 12,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,907,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 9.1% during the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 50,232 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $19,500,000 after purchasing an additional 4,195 shares in the last quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $226,000. Von Berge Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $209,000. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.3% during the second quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 434,586 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $168,563,000 after purchasing an additional 17,826 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were 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 approximately $215,289,088.35. This trade represents a 3.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,819 shares of company stock worth $16,885,492. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $507.00 to $582.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $480.00 to $513.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $478.20.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of CAT opened at $491.67 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $443.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $383.88. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $511.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $230.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.01, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.99 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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

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.