Trust Investment Advisors Sells 345 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Trust Investment Advisors trimmed its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,422 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 345 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for 1.5% of Trust Investment Advisors’ holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Trust Investment Advisors’ holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Compass Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% during the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CAT. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $425.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Melius Research upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $450.00 to $506.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $447.00 to $502.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $518.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total value of $7,088,152.16. Following the sale, the chairman owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. The trade was a 3.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE CAT opened at $527.12 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $544.99. 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 has a market capitalization of $246.95 billion, a PE ratio of 26.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.46. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $466.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $401.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. On average, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio 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.