D.A. Davidson & CO. Cuts Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

D.A. Davidson & CO. lowered its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 80,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,956 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $56,936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,385,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,572,681,000 after buying an additional 442,164 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,388,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,273,039,000 after acquiring an additional 385,204 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,610,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,072,572,000 after acquiring an additional 94,524 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,493,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,438,408,000 after purchasing an additional 54,069 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Caterpillar by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,738,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,860,457,000 after purchasing an additional 928,974 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Daiwa Securities Group raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $790.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $1,020.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $900.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $1,050.00 to $1,155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $980.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $907.91, for a total transaction of $11,444,205.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 49,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,236,615.75. This trade represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 16,283 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $916.80, for a total transaction of $14,928,254.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 46,041 shares in the company, valued at $42,210,388.80. The trade was a 26.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 95,773 shares of company stock worth $87,642,635 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $914.19 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $421.07 billion, a PE ratio of 45.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $931.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $790.77. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $403.32 and a one year high of $1,073.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.65 by $0.89. The company had revenue of $17.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.53 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.21% and a net margin of 13.33%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.25 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 30.06%.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.