Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Viewpoint Capital Management LLC

Viewpoint Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,765 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 740 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for approximately 2.4% of Viewpoint Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trivium Point Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 132.9% in the 2nd quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 9.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 78,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,037,000 after purchasing an additional 7,125 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 11.2% in the second quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 14,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,557,000 after buying an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at approximately $427,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,089,798,000 after buying an additional 15,347 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of several research reports. Erste Group Bank raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Melius raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $466.53.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.4%

Caterpillar stock opened at $495.80 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $505.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.22, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $438.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $380.18.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.99 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 30.72%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 38,819 shares of company stock valued at $16,885,492. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.