ZEGA Investments LLC Cuts Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

ZEGA Investments LLC cut its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 19.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,676 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 411 shares during the period. ZEGA Investments LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $651,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% during the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $562.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $491.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $417.84. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $596.21. The company has a market cap of $263.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.17 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current 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 $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 yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 31.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $476.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $485.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Three investment 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $588.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total value of $8,231,825.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 80,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,106,333.24. The trade was a 15.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 71,823 shares of company stock worth $34,477,790. 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.