D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. Trims Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 11.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,205 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 792 shares during the period. D L Carlson Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,046,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth $33,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the 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 transaction, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT opened at $431.05 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $441.15. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $408.58 and a 200 day moving average of $358.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.93, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CAT. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $450.87.

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.