Brown Advisory Inc. Sells 1,733 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Brown Advisory Inc. lowered its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 84,473 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,733 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $32,793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 49.2% during the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $603.27 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $607.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $542.45 and a 200 day moving average of $452.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $282.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.97, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.57.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th were paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on CAT. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Caterpillar from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $560.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, December 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $570.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $729.00 price objective (up from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $610.32.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total value of $6,034,465.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,874,576.40. This trade represents a 55.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.44, for a total transaction of $5,714,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 55,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,692,062.40. The trade was a 15.28% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 79,061 shares of company stock worth $41,949,366. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.