W Advisors LLC Sells 287 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

W Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 12.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,057 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 287 shares during the period. W Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. 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 research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $376.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $336.31.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $329.36 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $382.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $339.86 and its 200 day moving average is $343.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.07 billion, a PE ratio of 14.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

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

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,347,825.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,668 shares of company stock valued at $2,665,760. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.