Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.

Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 86.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,967 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 12,689 shares during the period. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $763,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aire Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 9,042 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,510,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,954 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,923,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,669 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Tsfg LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 279 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% during 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 during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the 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 sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chairman directly owned 448,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,457,335.17. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $578.28 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $596.21. The stock has a market cap of $270.91 billion, a PE ratio of 29.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company has a 50-day moving average of $478.42 and a 200 day moving average of $410.02.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The company had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.17 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Melius upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $502.00 to $557.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $568.50.

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.