Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC Lowers Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC lessened its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 27.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,652 shares during the quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,115,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,418,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,656,286,000 after acquiring an additional 208,196 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 36,842.1% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,833,836,000 after purchasing an additional 7,279,991 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $2,165,899,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,204,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,386,626,000 after purchasing an additional 264,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,337,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,295,432,000 after buying an additional 33,467 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on CAT. Erste Group Bank upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $560.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $557.00 to $630.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Caterpillar from $506.00 to $581.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $616.00.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE CAT opened at $583.12 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $627.50. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $564.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $472.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $272.89 billion, a PE ratio of 29.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 80,209 shares in the company, valued at $45,106,333.24. This trade represents a 15.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total transaction of $6,034,465.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,649 shares in the company, valued at $4,874,576.40. The trade was a 55.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 61,895 shares of company stock valued at $34,007,516. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.