Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Studio Investment Management LLC

Studio Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,739 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 932 shares during the period. Caterpillar comprises about 1.0% of Studio Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Studio Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,945,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 7,279,991 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 6.7% during the first 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 valued at $1,386,626,000 after purchasing an additional 264,054 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 15,347 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 9.1% during the first 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 last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 5.0% during the first 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 last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $524.95 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $458.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $394.14. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $544.99. The firm has a market cap of $245.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.46. 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 announced 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 business had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.99 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total value of $8,673,808.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 448,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $226,457,335.17. This represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,985 shares of company stock worth $25,559,300 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Bank of America upped their price target on Caterpillar from $517.00 to $594.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Melius Research raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on Caterpillar from $450.00 to $506.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $515.40.

About Caterpillar

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.