Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Insider Anthony Fassino Sells 6,033 Shares

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) insider Anthony Fassino sold 6,033 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.15, for a total transaction of $4,356,730.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 41,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,717,194.65. This represents a 12.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE:CAT traded up $14.12 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $740.32. 1,599,325 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,818,139. The stock has a market capitalization of $346.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.58. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $740.83. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $617.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $530.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 45.76%. The business had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at about $2,165,899,000. Groupe la Francaise grew its position in Caterpillar by 82.0% during the second quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 27,246 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,820,000 after buying an additional 12,278 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 155.9% during the third quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 47,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,014,000 after buying an additional 28,773 shares during the last quarter. ZEGA Investments LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 149.6% in the third quarter. ZEGA Investments LLC now owns 4,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,996,000 after acquiring an additional 2,508 shares during the period. Finally, Palmer Knight Co bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,884,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CAT shares. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $470.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. William Blair set a $735.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Evercore lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $476.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $660.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $690.90.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.