Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Trims Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 59.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,472 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $647,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $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 acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2,160.0% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays lifted their price target 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. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.33.

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE CAT opened at $405.65 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $246.01 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $387.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $356.38. The firm has a market cap of $195.85 billion, a PE ratio of 18.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted 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 analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 8.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 20,774 shares of company stock worth $8,233,034 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.