Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC Reduces Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC decreased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,043 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 48 shares during the quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $36,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 215.4% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $358.19.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 acquisition, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,128 shares of company stock valued at $2,506,748 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $376.52 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $182.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $233.57 and a 52-week high of $403.60. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $372.91 and its 200 day moving average is $351.45.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

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.