Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Stock: Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. Cuts Holdings

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 90.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,235 shares during the quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $101,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $5,372,000. D.B. Root & Company LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $850,000. Dearborn Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $20,293,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4.3% in the second quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 62,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $66,802,000 after purchasing an additional 2,590 shares during the period. Finally, Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 85.3% in the second quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 2,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,991,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer maintained an “outperform” rating and still sees substantial upside, although it lowered its price target to $1,009 from $1,118. Oppenheimer Caterpillar price-target update
• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar maintained its quarterly dividend at $1.63 per share, payable November 19 to shareholders of record October 19. The company has paid annual cash dividends since its founding and quarterly dividends since 1933. Caterpillar Inc. Maintains Dividend

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $747.18 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $343.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.58. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $510.21 and a 12 month high of $1,073.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $816.99 and its 200-day moving average is $855.96.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $8.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.22 by $1.95. The business had revenue of $20.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.34 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 55.53% and a net margin of 14.51%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.72 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 27.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 19th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, CEO Joseph E. Creed sold 32,401 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $808.98, for a total value of $26,211,760.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 34,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,954,303.90. This represents a 48.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Caterpillar from $877.00 to $897.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC set a $980.00 price target on Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, September 10th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $845.00 to $882.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $1,225.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $967.83.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. Its products are used in infrastructure development, construction, mining, energy production, transportation, agriculture, forestry, and other industrial applications.

The company markets equipment and related services through a worldwide network of independent dealers. Its operations are generally organized around Construction Industries, Resource Industries, and Energy & Transportation.