Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Capital Investment Counsel LLC

Capital Investment Counsel LLC reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 332 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for 1.3% of Capital Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Capital Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,627,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trivium Point Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 132.9% during the 2nd quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $748,000 after buying an additional 1,099 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 78,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,037,000 after purchasing an additional 7,125 shares in the last quarter. Palmer Knight Co acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,884,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 11.2% in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at $427,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $527.12 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $246.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $466.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $401.50. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $544.99.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its 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). The business had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The business’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.99 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 30.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Melius Research raised 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 report on Wednesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $480.00 to $513.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $450.00 to $506.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $518.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the business’s 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 directly owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 55,985 shares of company stock worth $25,559,300. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.