Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Claro Advisors LLC

Claro Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 60.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 538 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 836 shares during the quarter. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Milestone Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 52.0% during the 2nd quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 2,081 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $808,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 77.0% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 416 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $161,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Elyxium Wealth LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the second quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC now owns 2,482 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $964,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Prosperity Consulting Group LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $569.51 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $596.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of $488.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $415.91. The company has a market cap of $266.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The business had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.17 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. HSBC upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $405.00 to $660.00 in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $729.00 price objective (up previously from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $570.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $588.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.22, for a total transaction of $686,664.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $757,047.06. The trade was a 47.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 57,185 shares of company stock worth $26,245,964. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.