Annex Advisory Services LLC Trims Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Annex Advisory Services LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 971 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 61 shares during the quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $527,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,480,250. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,863 shares of company stock worth $8,837,714 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $2.10 on Friday, reaching $338.26. The company had a trading volume of 1,668,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,750,098. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $333.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $338.78. The firm has a market cap of $165.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.27, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $223.76 and a 52-week high of $382.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The business’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $337.38.

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.