LS Investment Advisors LLC Sells 2,694 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

LS Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 7.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,102 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,694 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar makes up about 2.4% of LS Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. LS Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $16,749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Abacus Planning Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 3,214 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Coastwise Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.8% during the third quarter. Coastwise Capital Group LLC now owns 1,168 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% during the third quarter. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,682,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coastline Trust Co lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 6,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,116,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total transaction of $8,231,825.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 80,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,106,333.24. The trade was a 15.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.44, for a total value of $5,714,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 61,895 shares of company stock worth $34,007,516 over the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Up 4.4%

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $598.11 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $627.50. 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 cap of $279.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.70, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.57. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $574.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $486.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $4.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The company had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.17 EPS. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CAT. HSBC upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $405.00 to $660.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $557.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $729.00 target price (up from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $485.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “mixed” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $618.70.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.