Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stake Cut by Harbour Investments Inc.

Harbour Investments Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 295 shares during the quarter. Harbour Investments Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,120,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CAT. Bank of America reduced their price target on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $399.00 target price (up from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $336.31.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $351.23. The stock had a trading volume of 1,210,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,691,051. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.76 and a 52 week high of $382.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $337.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $342.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 22nd. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.46%.

Caterpillar declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $527,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $527,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,347,825.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,991 shares of company stock valued at $2,059,398 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.