Bernard Wealth Management Corp. Sells 2,562 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lowered its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 30.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,828 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,562 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar comprises 1.0% of Bernard Wealth Management Corp.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Bernard Wealth Management Corp.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 36,842.1% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,833,836,000 after purchasing an additional 7,279,991 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2,723.1% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,414,280 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $466,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364,183 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth about $391,788,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 546.6% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 843,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $327,297,000 after purchasing an additional 712,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,229,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,064,951,000 after purchasing an additional 268,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:CAT opened at $491.67 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $443.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $383.88. 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 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $511.50. The firm has a market cap of $230.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.46.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. 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 currently 30.72%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total value of $7,088,152.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. The trade was a 3.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,819 shares of company stock worth $16,885,492. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CAT. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $495.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Melius upgraded 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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.