Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 16.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 793 shares during the quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,420 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,844,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Juno Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $877,000. DSG Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,226,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 19.1% during the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 116,589 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,630,000 after acquiring an additional 18,676 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $4,517,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT opened at $969.88 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $921.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $772.97. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $388.09 and a 1-year high of $1,073.46. The company has a market capitalization of $446.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $17.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.53 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.21% and a net margin of 13.33%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.25 EPS. Research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.71 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 given a $1.63 dividend. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 32.45%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total value of $14,399,860.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,631,913.85. This represents a 22.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider owned 49,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,236,615.75. This trade represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 95,773 shares of company stock worth $87,642,635 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $670.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,103.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $900.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $1,125.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $825.00 target price on Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $949.41.

About Caterpillar

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.