Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Has $4.03 Million Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,145 shares during the quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,027,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $397.49 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $191.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $246.01 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $386.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $355.84.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This trade represents a 3.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at $11,750,181.12. This represents a 8.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,774 shares of company stock valued at $8,233,034 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.33.

About Caterpillar

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.