D.A. Davidson & CO. Sells 1,956 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

D.A. Davidson & CO. reduced its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,956 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $56,936,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lam Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 220.0% in the 4th quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 56 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CAT. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $1,043.00 to $1,218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Argus increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $820.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $845.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. HSBC upped their price target on Caterpillar from $850.00 to $1,100.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $900.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $980.57.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $914.19 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $403.32 and a 12-month high of $1,073.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market cap of $421.07 billion, a PE ratio of 45.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $931.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $790.77.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The company had revenue of $17.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.25 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 30.06%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $907.91, for a total transaction of $11,444,205.55. Following the sale, the insider owned 49,825 shares in the company, valued at $45,236,615.75. This trade represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.92, for a total value of $22,354,968.24. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 86,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,397,884.68. This trade represents a 21.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 95,773 shares of company stock worth $87,642,635 in the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Profile

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.