Ulland Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Ulland Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 415 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CAT. GSB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $832,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Verum Partners LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,388,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc now owns 4,683 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,818,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,216 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $500.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $234.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.44, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $441.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $382.85. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $509.48.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 38,819 shares of company stock valued at $16,885,492. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $480.00 to $513.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Melius upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two equities 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. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $478.20.

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.