Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Stock Holdings Decreased by Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC

Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC lessened its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 21.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 466 shares during the period. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $666,000 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 company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 36,842.1% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,833,836,000 after buying an additional 7,279,991 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 6.7% during 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 worth $1,386,626,000 after acquiring an additional 264,054 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,089,798,000 after acquiring an additional 15,347 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 268,300 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 150,533 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the sale, the director 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 57,185 shares of company stock worth $26,245,964. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $569.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $266.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.24, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $488.91 and a 200 day moving average price 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $596.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. Caterpillar’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.17 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current 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 of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on CAT. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $485.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup upped their target price on Caterpillar from $570.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $588.94.

Caterpillar 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.