Claro Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Claro Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 60.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 538 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 836 shares during the quarter. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,688,000 after buying an additional 2,519 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,020 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $996,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 30.9% during the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 844 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,708 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,851,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $569.51 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $266.80 billion, a PE ratio of 29.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $596.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $488.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $415.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The company had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.22, for a total value of $686,664.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,323 shares in the company, valued at $757,047.06. The trade was a 47.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total transaction of $8,673,808.14. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 448,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $226,457,335.17. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 57,185 shares of company stock valued at $26,245,964 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. Citigroup upped their price target on Caterpillar from $570.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $729.00 price objective (up previously from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $594.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $588.94.

Caterpillar Company Profile

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.