Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Blair William & Co. IL

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL has reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 0.6%, now holding 113,544 shares worth approximately $44 million.
• The recent quarterly earnings report showed Caterpillar missed earnings estimates, reporting $4.72 EPS against a consensus of $4.88, although revenue surpassed expectations at $16.57 billion.
• Caterpillar announced a quarterly dividend of $1.51 per share to be paid on November 20, 2023, representing an annualized yield of 1.2%.

Blair William & Co. IL cut its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 0.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 113,544 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 735 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $44,079,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 7,279,991 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 1,364,183 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth about $391,788,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 546.6% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 843,093 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $327,297,000 after acquiring an additional 712,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 9.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, July 14th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $480.00 to $513.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Melius raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $478.20.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $500.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $509.48. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $441.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $382.85. The company has a market capitalization of $234.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.46.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 38,819 shares of company stock worth $16,885,492. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.

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