Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC

Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC trimmed its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,371 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 237 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 2.5% in the second quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Palisade Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 9,668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,379,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Peterson Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 1,049 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,393 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $253.07 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $204.04 and a fifty-two week high of $293.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $259.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $252.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $128.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.09.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $5.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.75 by $0.77. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.29% and a net margin of 13.69%. The company had revenue of $16.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $240.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 30th. Barclays raised their target price on Caterpillar from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Caterpillar from $183.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $267.68.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 2,923 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.00, for a total value of $815,517.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,182 shares in the company, valued at $4,514,778. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Caterpillar

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.