Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stake Decreased by Sunpointe LLC

Sunpointe LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 18.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 853 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 189 shares during the quarter. Sunpointe LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $334,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CAT shares. Raymond James started coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $355.50.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $5.42 on Wednesday, hitting $393.41. 105,849 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,639,951. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $360.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $349.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.76 and a 12-month high of $403.60. The company has a market cap of $192.40 billion, a PE ratio of 17.52, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.55 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.