Reliant Investment Partners LLC Lowers Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Reliant Investment Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 34 shares during the quarter. Reliant Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total transaction of $8,673,808.14. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 448,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,457,335.17. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock worth $25,559,300. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $480.00 to $513.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Melius upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $540.00 to $612.00 in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $505.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $518.19.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:CAT opened at $527.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $246.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $466.75 and a 200 day moving average of $401.50. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $544.99.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. Caterpillar’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.99 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. 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.