Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Erste Asset Management GmbH

Key Points

• Erste Asset Management GmbH decreased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. by 22% during Q1, now owning 83,310 shares valued at approximately $27.47 million after selling 23,499 shares.
• Caterpillar reported $4.72 EPS for Q2, missing estimates, while revenue reached $16.57 billion, surpassing expectations.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.51, reflecting a positive change from the previous $1.41 dividend.

Erste Asset Management GmbH lessened its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 22.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 83,310 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 23,499 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $27,472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, July 14th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Melius Research raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $414.00 to $507.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given 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 $450.87.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $416.1120 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $441.15. The stock has a market cap of $194.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $401.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $356.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

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). Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.99 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This is a positive change from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.72%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value 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 trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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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