Vident Advisory LLC Reduces Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 2.4%, holding 30,405 shares valued at approximately $10.03 million after selling 748 shares in the first quarter.
• Insider trading activity included Susan C. Schwab selling 2,324 shares for nearly $952,840, reflecting a significant decrease in ownership.
• Caterpillar's recent quarterly earnings reported an EPS of $4.72, which missed analyst expectations, while dividend payouts were increased to $1.51 per share, resulting in a 1.4% yield.

Vident Advisory LLC decreased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,405 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 748 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $10,029,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter worth $33,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $1.21 during trading on Thursday, hitting $416.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 524,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,746,391. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $415.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $361.45. The company has a market capitalization of $195.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $441.15.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.99 EPS. The business's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.51 dividend. 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 1.5%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. Evercore ISI raised 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, August 19th. Melius Research raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Caterpillar from $414.00 to $507.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $457.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $3,605,586.40. The trade was a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the sale, the chairman owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 21,653 shares of company stock valued at $8,943,642. 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.