Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Primecap Management Co. CA

Primecap Management Co. CA cut its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,370,898 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,587 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA owned approximately 0.29% of Caterpillar worth $532,196,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $292,000. Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 116.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 11,246 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,366,000 after buying an additional 6,046 shares during the period. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 38.8% during the second quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,699 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $660,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. Diversified Portfolios Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $208,000. Finally, Purus Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 133.4% in the second quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,039 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 1,737 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.22, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 47.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total value of $7,088,152.16. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,211,839.35. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 86,229 shares of company stock valued at $43,323,118 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on CAT. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $560.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $600.94.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $546.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $255.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.07, a PEG 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $596.21. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $511.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $431.86.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued 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 1.1%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.01%.

Caterpillar Company 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.