Narwhal Capital Management Sells 1,184 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Narwhal Capital Management lessened its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 25,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,184 shares during the period. Narwhal Capital Management’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $527,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,515 shares in the company, valued at $6,480,250. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $527,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,515 shares in the company, valued at $6,480,250. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,668 shares of company stock worth $2,665,760. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $329.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $339.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $343.24. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.55 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.87 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd were issued a $1.41 dividend. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on CAT shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Raymond James started coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $336.31.

Caterpillar 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.