Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,633 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,714 shares during the quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $10,322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1,060.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total value of $8,231,825.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 80,209 shares in the company, valued at $45,106,333.24. The trade was a 15.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total value of $6,034,465.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,874,576.40. This trade represents a 55.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 54,729 shares of company stock worth $31,084,308 in the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $675.00 to $702.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $730.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $690.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $640.20.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.5%

Caterpillar stock opened at $639.03 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $655.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $299.05 billion, a PE ratio of 32.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.57. The business’s fifty day moving average is $598.01 and its 200 day moving average is $515.39.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $4.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.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 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.01%.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.