Puzo Michael J Cuts Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Puzo Michael J cut its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 51.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,175 shares during the period. Puzo Michael J’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $797,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Rice Partnership LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 170.6% during the first quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 10,528 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,459,000 after acquiring an additional 6,638 shares during the period. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 10,416 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,375,000 after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID grew its stake in Caterpillar by 32.0% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 99 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Florida Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 626.4% during the 1st quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,185,000 after purchasing an additional 5,093 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swan Global Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth $236,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 5,642 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $883.03, for a total transaction of $4,982,055.26. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,594 shares in the company, valued at $8,471,789.82. This represents a 37.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.92, for a total value of $22,354,968.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 86,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,397,884.68. The trade was a 21.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 95,773 shares of company stock worth $87,642,635 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $864.72 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $398.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.57. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $405.46 and a 52-week high of $1,073.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $930.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $796.99.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. The firm had revenue of $17.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.53 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.25 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.87 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 30.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $769.00 to $879.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Daiwa Securities Group raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $790.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $900.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $820.00 to $990.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $1,043.00 to $1,218.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $980.57.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.