Destination Wealth Management Lowers Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Destination Wealth Management trimmed its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 622 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 41 shares during the quarter. Destination Wealth Management’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,296,641,000 after purchasing an additional 129,216 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,583,372,000 after acquiring an additional 96,479 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,408,481,000 after acquiring an additional 179,908 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $1,660,560,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,264,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $947,875,000 after purchasing an additional 529,420 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. HSBC raised their target price on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $399.00 price target (up previously from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $336.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,480,250. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,825.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,991 shares of company stock valued at $2,059,398 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT traded up $6.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $348.41. 2,183,912 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,706,098. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $223.76 and a 1 year high of $382.01. The company has a market cap of $170.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $336.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $341.63.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 22nd. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 25.46%.

Caterpillar declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.