Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Invesco LLC

Invesco LLC trimmed its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,326 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 60 shares during the quarter. Invesco LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position 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 period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $926,000. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 3.5% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 278,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $92,688,000 after buying an additional 9,321 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.1% during the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 13,435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,475,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on CAT shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $399.00 target price (up from $390.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Citigroup started coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $336.31.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $334.04 on Tuesday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $339.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $343.71. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $382.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.98 billion, a PE ratio of 15.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released 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 company had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The business’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.55 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.46%.

Caterpillar declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $527,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,480,250. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.