Insider Selling: Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Insider Sells 2,425 Shares of Stock

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $339.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $307.05 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $369.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $372.24. The firm has a market cap of $162.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

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.