Affinity Investment Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Affinity Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,527 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 36 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for about 1.8% of Affinity Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CAT. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 2.6% in the third quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its position in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $707,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,356,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Souders Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% in the second quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 3,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,218,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Barclays increased their price target on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $357.56.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of CAT opened at $379.63 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $372.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $351.42. The stock has a market cap of $184.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $232.88 and a 12 month high of $403.60.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.52 EPS. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Caterpillar

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.