Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Position Cut by Calamos Advisors LLC

Calamos Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 145,159 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,297 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $48,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $81,000. Syon Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 5,488 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,623,000 after buying an additional 1,529 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 5,293.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 482,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $142,620,000 after buying an additional 473,416 shares during the period. Finally, Van Cleef Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 64.5% during the fourth quarter. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc now owns 1,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 10th. HSBC upped their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $399.00 target price (up from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $336.31.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of CAT traded up $6.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $348.41. 2,183,912 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,706,098. The company has a market cap of $170.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $336.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $341.63. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.76 and a 12-month high of $382.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

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

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. 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 is 25.46%.

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.