First Trust Advisors LP Decreases Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 280,447 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 15,682 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.06% of Caterpillar worth $108,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,418,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,656,286,000 after buying an additional 208,196 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 36,842.1% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,833,836,000 after acquiring an additional 7,279,991 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at about $2,165,899,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,204,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,386,626,000 after purchasing an additional 264,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,337,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,295,432,000 after purchasing an additional 33,467 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $603.27 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $607.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $282.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.97, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $542.45 and a 200-day moving average of $451.75.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted 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 net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The company had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.17 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th were issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 31.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 8,184 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.18, for a total value of $4,666,353.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 41,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,669,312.16. This represents a 16.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 79,061 shares of company stock worth $41,949,366. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CAT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $560.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $476.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $594.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $610.32.

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.