Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,944,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horan Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 678.6% in the first quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 470.8% in the first quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1,400.0% in the first quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 150 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 69.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 6,415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $1,667,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,254,120. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 6,415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $1,667,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,254,120. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 2,923 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.00, for a total transaction of $815,517.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,514,778. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,918 shares of company stock valued at $15,299,870. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT traded up $0.85 on Friday, hitting $282.28. 1,241,276 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,930,151. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.60 and a fifty-two week high of $293.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $269.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $240.87. The stock has a market cap of $143.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $5.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.57 by $0.98. Caterpillar had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 55.93%. The company had revenue of $17.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.18 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 20th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 32.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $287.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on Caterpillar from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Caterpillar from $275.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Caterpillar from $183.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $267.00.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar, Inc engages in the manufacture of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. It operates through the following segments: Construction Industries, Resource Industries, Energy and Transportation, Financial Products, and All Other.