Hall Laurie J Trustee Cuts Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Hall Laurie J Trustee trimmed its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,733 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 47 shares during the period. Hall Laurie J Trustee’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victrix Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,090,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 0.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,089,798,000 after buying an additional 15,347 shares during the period. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $579,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 18.6% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 191,640 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $63,202,000 after buying an additional 30,070 shares during the period. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.4% during the first quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 22,689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,483,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 482,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,211,839.35. The trade was a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,653 shares of company stock worth $8,943,642. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $414.00 to $507.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $457.20.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $414.73 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $415.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $361.45. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $441.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $194.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The business had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.99 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st were issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.72%.

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.