Insider Selling: Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Director Sells 1,300 Shares of Stock

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total transaction of $543,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,079,968. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded down $6.53 on Thursday, reaching $410.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,250,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,619,573. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $233.82 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company has a market cap of $198.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.06, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $374.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $352.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aljian Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 168.7% in the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 5,911 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,312,000 after acquiring an additional 3,711 shares during the last quarter. S&CO Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. S&CO Inc. now owns 115,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,269,000 after buying an additional 2,940 shares in the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 1,754 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $686,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 6,359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,487,000 after buying an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adero Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 786 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $358.19.

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.