StoneX Group Inc. Sells 993 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

StoneX Group Inc. cut its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 993 shares during the quarter. StoneX Group Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.6% during the third quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $919,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $397.49 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization 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. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $246.01 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $386.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $355.84.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.52 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. The trade was a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The trade was a 3.65 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,774 shares of company stock valued at $8,233,034 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CAT. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Evercore ISI downgraded Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Four 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.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.