Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 964 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Welch & Forbes LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 964 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $7,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 6.7% in 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,089,798,000 after purchasing an additional 15,347 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,229,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,064,951,000 after purchasing an additional 268,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 5.0% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,141,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,036,211,000 after purchasing an additional 150,533 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $570.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $560.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $568.50.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE CAT opened at $578.28 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $596.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $270.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.69, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a fifty day moving average of $478.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $409.18.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The business’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.17 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid 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 1.0%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total transaction of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the business’s 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock worth $25,559,300. 0.33% of the stock is currently 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.