1,235 Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lowered its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 90.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,235 shares during the quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. grew its position in Caterpillar by 440.0% in the second quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 93.8% during the second quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 31 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $36,000. Lam Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Tacita Capital Inc purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $47,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $1,118.00 to $1,009.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. President Capital started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, September 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $999.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $900.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $1,125.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $967.83.

Caterpillar News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer maintained an “outperform” rating and still sees substantial upside, although it lowered its price target to $1,009 from $1,118. Oppenheimer Caterpillar price-target update
• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar maintained its quarterly dividend at $1.63 per share, payable November 19 to shareholders of record October 19. The company has paid annual cash dividends since its founding and quarterly dividends since 1933. Caterpillar Inc. Maintains Dividend

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Joseph E. Creed sold 32,401 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $808.98, for a total value of $26,211,760.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 34,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,954,303.90. The trade was a 48.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 3.3%

NYSE:CAT opened at $747.18 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $343.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.58. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $510.21 and a one year high of $1,073.46. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $816.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $855.96.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $8.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.22 by $1.95. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 55.53% and a net margin of 14.51%. The firm had revenue of $20.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.72 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 27.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Investors of record on Monday, October 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 19th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.06%.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. Its products are used in infrastructure development, construction, mining, energy production, transportation, agriculture, forestry, and other industrial applications.

The company markets equipment and related services through a worldwide network of independent dealers. Its operations are generally organized around Construction Industries, Resource Industries, and Energy & Transportation.