Wedbush Securities Inc. Cuts Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Wedbush Securities Inc. cut its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,043 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 810 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $7,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 7,279,991 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 6.7% during the 1st 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 worth $1,386,626,000 after purchasing an additional 264,054 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.5% during the 1st 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 stake in Caterpillar by 9.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,229,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,064,951,000 after purchasing an additional 268,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 150,533 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised their price target on Caterpillar from $594.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $729.00 target price (up from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $588.94.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.2%

CAT opened at $562.82 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $596.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $491.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $417.84. The firm has a market cap of $263.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.89, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.17 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 31.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total value of $8,673,808.14. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 448,173 shares in the company, valued at approximately $226,457,335.17. This represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total transaction of $8,231,825.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 80,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,106,333.24. This represents a 15.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 71,823 shares of company stock valued at $34,477,790. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.