WBH Advisory Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

WBH Advisory Inc. lowered its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.0% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,981 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. WBH Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,934,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Compass Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 49.2% in the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 2.5%

Caterpillar stock opened at $527.41 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.46. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $544.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $453.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $391.52.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.99 EPS. Analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 30.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total value of $8,673,808.14. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 448,173 shares in the company, valued at $226,457,335.17. This represents a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on CAT. Citigroup upped their price target on Caterpillar from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Caterpillar from $447.00 to $502.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Caterpillar from $505.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Melius raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $495.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned 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 target price of $510.60.

About Caterpillar

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.