Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Accredited Investors Inc.

Accredited Investors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 25.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 571 shares during the quarter. Accredited Investors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $666,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 15.3% in the second quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 2,440 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $947,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 18.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 1,931 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $750,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd now owns 936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 6.9% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 3,786 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,470,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 5.0% during the second quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 3,172 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,231,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.22, for a total transaction of $686,664.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $757,047.06. This trade represents a 47.56% 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 69,662 shares of company stock worth $33,575,140 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on CAT shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $729.00 target price (up previously from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $506.00 to $581.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $596.59.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.5%

Caterpillar stock opened at $567.82 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $265.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.15, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.38. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $596.21. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $497.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $423.30.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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 given a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 31.01%.

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.