Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC Reduces Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC reduced its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 21.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 466 shares during the period. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $666,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 36,842.1% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,833,836,000 after buying an additional 7,279,991 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,364,183 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $391,788,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 546.6% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 9.1% in the first 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on CAT shares. Erste Group Bank raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $408.00 to $569.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $570.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, HSBC upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $405.00 to $660.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $588.94.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $569.51 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $488.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $415.91. The stock has a market cap of $266.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $596.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.17 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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 $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.22, for a total transaction of $686,664.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $757,047.06. The trade was a 47.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 57,185 shares of company stock valued at $26,245,964. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.