Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Reduces Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. reduced its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 119 shares during the quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,356,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 32.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,311 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,730,000 after purchasing an additional 2,745 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 191,640 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $63,202,000 after purchasing an additional 30,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grant Private Wealth Management Inc increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 46.2% during the 1st quarter. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc now owns 1,224 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:CAT opened at $491.67 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $511.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $443.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $384.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $230.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The business had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.99 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $495.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $480.00 to $513.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $478.20.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total value of $7,088,152.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 482,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. This trade represents a 3.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 38,819 shares of company stock valued at $16,885,492. 0.33% of the stock is currently 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.