Wealthspan Partners LLC Sells 32 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Wealthspan Partners LLC cut its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,194 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 32 shares during the period. Wealthspan Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,628,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Compass Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 49.2% during the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $495.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Melius upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.60.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT opened at $534.40 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $538.45. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $250.35 billion, a PE ratio of 27.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $448.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $387.73.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly 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 analysts’ expectations of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.99 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued 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 of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 30.72%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. The trade was 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, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total transaction of $8,673,808.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 448,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,457,335.17. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.