Bessemer Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Bessemer Group Inc. decreased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 94.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,808 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 329,864 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $7,690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 55,985 shares of company stock worth $25,559,300. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $524.86 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $468.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $403.15. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $544.99. 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 market capitalization of $245.89 billion, a PE ratio of 26.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The company’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.99 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CAT shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $450.00 to $506.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $507.00 to $582.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $505.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $518.19.

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.