Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Insider Anthony D. Fassino Sells 6,279 Shares

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $402.53 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $391.99 and its 200 day moving average is $358.09. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $252.42 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The company has a market cap of $194.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,356,930,000 after buying an additional 2,131,276 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3,319.7% in the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,606,000 after acquiring an additional 266,969 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,874,000 after purchasing an additional 249,155 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,501,554,000 after purchasing an additional 205,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in Caterpillar by 34.4% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $305,908,000 after purchasing an additional 200,210 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.