Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.

Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 86.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,967 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 12,689 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 49.2% during the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $594.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Two research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $568.50.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE CAT opened at $578.28 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $478.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $410.02. The company has a market capitalization of $270.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.69, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.01%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Company 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.