Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Maple Capital Management Inc.

Maple Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 743 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 138 shares during the period. Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Trivium Point Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 132.9% during the second quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 9.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 7,125 shares during the period. Palmer Knight Co purchased 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% during the second quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 14,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at $427,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $567.82 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $497.84 and a 200 day moving average of $423.30. The firm has a market cap of $265.73 billion, a PE ratio of 29.15, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $596.21.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 31.01%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $568.86 per share, for a total transaction of $170,658.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 7,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,520,730.42. This trade represents a 3.92% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 69,662 shares of company stock worth $33,575,140 in the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on CAT. Erste Group Bank raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $506.00 to $581.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $594.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $405.00 to $660.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $596.59.

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.