RB Capital Management LLC Trims Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

RB Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,702 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 44 shares during the quarter. RB Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Curat Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock opened at $431.05 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $408.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $358.73. The company has a market capitalization of $201.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.93, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $441.15.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st were paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 30.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. Baird R W upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Barclays raised their price target on Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Melius upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.