Jennison Associates LLC Sells 12,017 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Jennison Associates LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 245,783 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 12,017 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $96,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $381.44 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $241.81 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $184.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $383.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $355.03.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on CAT. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America increased their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup cut their price target on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.33.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased 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 3.65 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,774 shares of company stock valued at $8,233,034. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.