Caterpillar Inc. $CAT is Malaga Cove Capital LLC’s 8th Largest Position

Malaga Cove Capital LLC reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 251 shares during the period. Caterpillar comprises approximately 2.2% of Malaga Cove Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Malaga Cove Capital LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,557,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% during the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $569.51 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $266.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $596.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $488.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $415.91.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results 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 business 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 business posted $5.17 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal 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. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 31.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $570.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $506.00 to $581.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, HSBC raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $405.00 to $660.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $588.94.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $568.86 per share, with a total value of $170,658.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 7,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,520,730.42. The trade was a 3.92% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the 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 sale, the insider owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 57,185 shares of company stock worth $26,245,964 over the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.