Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC Trims Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 26.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 654 shares during the period. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in Caterpillar by 8.1% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 27,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $19,155,000 after buying an additional 2,025 shares in the last quarter. Three Seasons Wealth LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 24.8% during the 1st quarter. Three Seasons Wealth LLC now owns 1,485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 39,253.7% during the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 16,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,431,000 after acquiring an additional 16,094 shares in the last quarter. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH now owns 5,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,718,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, NFSG Corp raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 135.3% in the 1st quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 1,346 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $953,000 after acquiring an additional 774 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $907.91, for a total value of $11,444,205.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 49,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,236,615.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.92, for a total transaction of $22,354,968.24. Following the transaction, the insider owned 86,029 shares in the company, valued at $79,397,884.68. This represents a 21.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 95,773 shares of company stock valued at $87,642,635. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $914.19 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $931.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $790.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $421.07 billion, a PE ratio of 45.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.57. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $403.32 and a 52-week high of $1,073.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The firm had revenue of $17.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 30.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on CAT. Zacks Research upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $769.00 to $879.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $700.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $1,165.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $1,125.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $980.57.

Caterpillar Company Profile

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.