Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. cut its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 11.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 48 shares during the quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,496,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. LGT Group Foundation raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 6,850 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,034,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 8,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,445,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 3,372 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $997,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Global Investments lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 95.3% during the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 2,127 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on CAT. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $399.00 target price (up from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 10th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $336.31.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of CAT stock traded up $4.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $356.10. 2,974,052 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,679,620. The company has a market capitalization of $174.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $338.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $342.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.76 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were given a $1.41 dividend. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.46%.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

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

About Caterpillar

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.