Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC Sells 3,548 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC cut its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 25.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,548 shares during the quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aire Advisors LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the second quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 9,042 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,510,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,954 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,923,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.9% in the second quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,669 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Tsfg LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 9.8% during the second quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 279 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, GSB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% during the second quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $832,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $552.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $596.21. The company’s 50-day moving average is $506.27 and its 200 day moving average is $426.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $258.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.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 prior year, the business earned $5.17 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. Citigroup increased their target price on Caterpillar from $570.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $594.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $600.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.22, for a total value of $686,664.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $757,047.06. This represents a 47.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were 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 approximately $45,106,333.24. This trade represents a 15.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 86,229 shares of company stock valued at $43,323,118. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.