Guggenheim Capital LLC Cuts Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Guggenheim Capital LLC reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 1.4%, exiting with a total ownership of 51,758 shares valued at approximately $17.07 million.
• Caterpillar's recent quarterly earnings reported an EPS of $4.72, which fell short of analysts' expectations, although revenue surpassed forecasts at $16.57 billion.
• The company has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.51 per share, reflecting a healthy annualized payout of $6.04 and a dividend yield of 1.4%.

Guggenheim Capital LLC reduced its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,758 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 730 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $17,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 962 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% in the first quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,010 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,322,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% in the first quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,167 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 10,771 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,907,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit X LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.2% in the first quarter. Summit X LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of CAT opened at $433.17 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $441.15. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $410.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $359.24.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st were paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is an increase 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's payout ratio is presently 30.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, July 14th. Melius raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $450.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were 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 $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% 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 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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