Compound Planning Inc. Cuts Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Compound Planning Inc. reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 33.0%, owning 15,535 shares valued at $5.1 million after selling 7,658 shares.
• A number of other large investors increased their holdings in Caterpillar during the first quarter, with Norinchukin Bank boosting its stake by 11.1%, and CW Advisors LLC by 23.1%.
• Caterpillar announced a quarterly dividend of $1.51 per share, reflecting an increase from the previous $1.41, and indicating a dividend yield of 1.4%.

Compound Planning Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 33.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,535 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,658 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Norinchukin Bank The raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 35,551 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,725,000 after buying an additional 3,545 shares in the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 23.1% in the 1st quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 74,667 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $24,648,000 after purchasing an additional 14,027 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Caterpillar by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,038,105 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $342,368,000 after purchasing an additional 15,687 shares in the last quarter. PGIM Custom Harvest LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. PGIM Custom Harvest LLC now owns 655 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 40,261 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $13,278,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Caterpillar from $414.00 to $507.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Melius Research upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two equities 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $450.87.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the sale, the director directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of Caterpillar 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. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $417.4240 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $441.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.23, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.40. 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $404.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $357.31.

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 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 company had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.99 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

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

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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