Welch & Forbes LLC Trims Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Welch & Forbes LLC trimmed its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 964 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $7,670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 28.2% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 909 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 6.5% during the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 13,768 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,325,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Longbow Finance SA purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $12,689,000. Aviance Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth approximately $213,000. Finally, Hills Bank & Trust Co lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 17.5% during the second quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $570,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $568.50.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.8%

Caterpillar stock opened at $578.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $270.91 billion, a PE ratio of 29.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.46. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $596.21. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $478.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $409.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The business’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.17 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock worth $25,559,300. 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.