Allstate Corp Has $4.19 Million Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Allstate Corp reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 11.8%, now holding 12,700 shares valued at approximately $4.19 million.
• Insider transactions included sales by Jason Kaiser and Susan C. Schwab, which resulted in significant decreases in their respective holdings.
• Caterpillar recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.51 per share, reflecting a positive change and an annual yield of 1.4%.

Allstate Corp lessened its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 11.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,700 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,693 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,188,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar 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 sale, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $417.4240 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $195.55 billion, a PE ratio of 21.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $441.15. The business has a 50 day moving average of $404.15 and a 200-day moving average of $357.31.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st were paid a $1.51 dividend. This is a positive change from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $450.87.

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.

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