Appleton Partners Inc. MA Lowers Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Appleton Partners Inc. MA trimmed its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,687 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 81 shares during the quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Compass Financial Services Inc raised its stake in Caterpillar by 49.2% in the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $495.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $466.53.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total value of $7,088,152.16. Following the sale, the chairman owned 482,505 shares in the company, valued at $199,211,839.35. The trade was a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,819 shares of company stock worth $16,885,492. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $495.80 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $505.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.46. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $438.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $380.18.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The firm had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.72%.

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.