Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.

Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. cut its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,580 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 540 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for 1.4% of Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Architects LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.1% in the second quarter. Wealth Architects LLC now owns 6,009 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,333,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Concord Asset Management LLC VA boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 7.6% in the second quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 9,676 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,756,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 36.3% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 170,951 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $66,365,000 after purchasing an additional 45,522 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 34.6% in the second quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 190,846 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $74,088,000 after purchasing an additional 49,076 shares during the period. Finally, Griffin Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 20.5% in the second quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,644 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,014,000 after purchasing an additional 3,515 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.7%

Caterpillar stock opened at $491.67 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $443.23 and its 200-day moving average is $384.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $511.50. The company has a market cap of $230.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.01, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The business had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.99 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current 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 $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.65, for a total value of $7,941,849.90. Following the sale, the chairman owned 465,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $215,289,088.35. This trade represents a 3.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,819 shares of company stock valued at $16,885,492 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CAT. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $480.00 to $513.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $507.00 to $582.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $478.20.

Caterpillar 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.