Wedbush Securities Inc. Sells 810 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Wedbush Securities Inc. lessened its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,043 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 810 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $7,005,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Compass Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Maseco LLP bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total value of $8,231,825.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 80,209 shares in the company, valued at $45,106,333.24. The trade was a 15.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.22, for a total value of $686,664.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $757,047.06. This represents a 47.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 71,823 shares of company stock valued at $34,477,790. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $562.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $263.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.89, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $596.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $491.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $417.84.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The company had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.17 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $506.00 to $581.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $729.00 target price (up previously from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $594.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Three investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average 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.