Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Blue Trust Inc.

Key Points

• Blue Trust Inc. decreased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. by 2.4% in the second quarter, owning 23,774 shares valued at approximately $9.23 million after selling 586 shares.
• Institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes, with Valeo Financial Advisors lifting its position by an astounding 36,842.1% to over 7.29 million shares valued at nearly $2.83 billion.
• Caterpillar recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.51 per share, scheduled for payment on November 20th, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.2% and a payout ratio of 30.72%.

Blue Trust Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,774 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 586 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $9,229,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 36,842.1% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,833,836,000 after buying an additional 7,279,991 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2,723.1% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at $391,788,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake 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 valued at $327,297,000 after acquiring an additional 712,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Caterpillar by 9.1% during the 1st 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on CAT. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. 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. Melius Research upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $478.20.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of CAT opened at $500.10 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $509.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $234.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.46. 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $441.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $382.85.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The business's revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.99 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar's payout ratio is currently 30.72%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.65, for a total value of $7,941,849.90. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 465,339 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $215,289,088.35. This trade represents a 3.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction 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. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,819 shares of company stock valued at $16,885,492 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.

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