Convergence Investment Partners LLC Lowers Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Convergence Investment Partners LLC cut its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,623 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 54 shares during the quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the second quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 9,042 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,510,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.5% in the second quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,954 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,923,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.2% in the second quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $832,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Verum Partners LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.5% in the second quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $447.00 to $502.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. 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 report on Tuesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $505.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $518.19.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total transaction of $8,673,808.14. Following the sale, the chairman owned 448,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $226,457,335.17. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $522.13 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $544.99. The company’s 50 day moving average is $464.46 and its 200 day moving average is $399.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company has a market cap of $244.60 billion, a PE ratio of 26.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 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 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 business had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.99 EPS. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.72%.

Caterpillar Company 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.