D.A. Davidson & CO. Decreases Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

D.A. Davidson & CO. lowered its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 80,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 287 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $26,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,310,000 after purchasing an additional 3,558 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 17.2% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at about $926,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT traded up $4.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $356.10. 2,974,052 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,369,276. The company has a market capitalization of $172.67 billion, a PE ratio of 16.08, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $338.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $342.75. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $223.76 and a one year high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The company’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.55 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,825.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,825.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,480,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Raymond James initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $399.00 price target (up from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. 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. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $336.31.

Caterpillar 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.