Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Insider Sells $2,565,536.61 in Stock

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at $13,714,323.35. The trade was a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock traded down $3.58 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $402.53. 1,548,474 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,587,731. 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 firm has a market cap of $194.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $391.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $357.73. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $252.42 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI downgraded Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Four investment 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.33.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAT. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 2,131,276 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3,319.7% during the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,606,000 after purchasing an additional 266,969 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $99,874,000 after purchasing an additional 249,155 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,501,554,000 after purchasing an additional 205,012 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 34.4% during the 3rd 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 hedge funds and other 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.