Canopy Partners LLC Lowers Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Canopy Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 695 shares during the period. Canopy Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,511,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Compass Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Maseco LLP purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.7%

Caterpillar stock opened at $486.86 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $505.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $439.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $380.92. The company has a market capitalization of $228.09 billion, a PE ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.72%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.65, for a total transaction of $7,941,849.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 465,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $215,289,088.35. This represents a 3.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 38,819 shares of company stock worth $16,885,492. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $495.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $414.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $466.53.

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.