Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Archer Investment Corp

Archer Investment Corp cut its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 27.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 870 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $8,356,930,000 after purchasing an additional 2,131,276 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 306.9% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 407,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $149,385,000 after purchasing an additional 307,479 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 3,319.7% in the second quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,606,000 after purchasing an additional 266,969 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $97,042,000. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 99.9% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 488,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $179,060,000 after purchasing an additional 244,253 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CAT. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.33.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock traded down $1.85 on Friday, reaching $385.51. 264,257 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,605,050. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $379.68 and a 200-day moving average of $353.59. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $241.81 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The firm has a market cap of $186.12 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 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 data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total transaction of $543,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,079,968. This represents a 20.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,749 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,912 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar 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.