Insider Selling: Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Insider Sells 2,664 Shares of Stock

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,906,356.84. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Caterpillar Trading Up 8.8 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $416.97 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $233.57 and a 52-week high of $418.30. The stock has a market cap of $202.19 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $374.93 and a 200-day 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.52 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.82 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CAT. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.