Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 123 shares during the period. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $36,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 215.4% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $355.50.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of CAT stock opened at $390.61 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.76 and a twelve month high of $403.60. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $369.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $350.79. The stock has a market cap of $191.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.63, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.55 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.46%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,825.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by 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.