Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Insider Sells $6,034,465.20 in Stock

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total transaction of $6,034,465.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,874,576.40. This trade represents a 55.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Caterpillar Stock Down 4.8%

NYSE:CAT traded down $27.35 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $545.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,795,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,790,964. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $596.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $255.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $501.01 and a 200-day moving average of $424.34.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.17 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,418,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,656,286,000 after acquiring an additional 208,196 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 36,842.1% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,833,836,000 after purchasing an additional 7,279,991 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,165,899,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,204,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,386,626,000 after buying an additional 264,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 20.7% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,553,930 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,695,757,000 after purchasing an additional 609,023 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $570.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $650.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $408.00 to $569.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $596.59.

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.