Brighton Jones LLC Lowers Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Brighton Jones LLC cut its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,805 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 626 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the second quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 9,042 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,510,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.5% during the second quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,954 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,923,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. GSB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 1.2% during the second quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $832,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Verum Partners LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 2.5% during the second quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,388,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of CAT opened at $522.13 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $544.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $464.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $399.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $244.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.46.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. 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 is currently 30.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on CAT. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $507.00 to $582.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $540.00 to $612.00 in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $447.00 to $502.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $518.19.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total transaction of $8,673,808.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 448,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $226,457,335.17. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, 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 quarter, insiders sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Company 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.