Summit Financial LLC Reduces Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Summit Financial LLC reduced its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. by 15.1%, selling 5,694 shares and leaving them with 32,043 shares valued at approximately $10.57 million.
• Analysts have increased their price targets for Caterpillar, with Citigroup raising theirs from $460.00 to $500.00 and a general consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $450.87.
• Caterpillar recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.51 per share, up from $1.41, representing an annualized dividend of $6.04 and a yield of 1.4%.

Summit Financial LLC trimmed its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 15.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,043 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,694 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $10,568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Curat Global LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on CAT. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $476.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $450.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of Caterpillar 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 sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 4.1%

NYSE CAT traded up $17.1140 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $435.0040. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,784,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,368,960. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $441.15. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $405.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $357.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.99 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st were issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 1.4%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 30.72%.

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.