Principle Wealth Partners LLC Sells 307 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Principle Wealth Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CATFree Report) by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 21,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 307 shares during the quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 36,842.1% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,833,836,000 after purchasing an additional 7,279,991 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,204,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,386,626,000 after acquiring an additional 264,054 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,089,798,000 after acquiring an additional 15,347 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,229,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,064,951,000 after acquiring an additional 268,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,141,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,036,211,000 after acquiring an additional 150,533 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $513.70 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $240.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $460.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $394.97. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $544.99.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CATGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion for 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 revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.99 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $540.00 to $612.00 in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Melius raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $518.19.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Caterpillar

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly 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. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300 in the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT)

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