Comerica Bank Trims Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Comerica Bank reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 6.4% in the first quarter, holding 102,868 shares worth approximately $33.93 million after selling 7,015 shares.
• Caterpillar recently increased its quarterly dividend from $1.41 to $1.51, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.4%.
• Despite missing EPS expectations in its last quarterly earnings report, Caterpillar's revenues were better than anticipated, highlighting a year-over-year decline of just 0.7%.

Comerica Bank cut its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 6.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 102,868 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,015 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $33,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victrix Investment Advisors acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $2,090,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 0.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,089,798,000 after purchasing an additional 15,347 shares during the period. Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $579,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 18.6% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 191,640 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $63,202,000 after purchasing an additional 30,070 shares during the period. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 3.4% in the first quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 22,689 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,483,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the company'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 sale, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,835,970. This 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the company's 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 directly 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. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Up 4.1%

CAT stock opened at $435.0040 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $203.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $441.15. The company's 50-day moving average price is $405.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $357.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $16.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.99 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on CAT shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $414.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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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