Paloma Partners Management Co Has $5.51 Million Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Paloma Partners Management Co decreased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,083 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,517 shares during the quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at approximately $393,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at $191,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth $40,586,000. Morton Community Bank increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 13.3% in the third quarter. Morton Community Bank now owns 846 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Tradition Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 6.0% in the third quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $969,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.33.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,906,356.84. The trade was a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. This trade represents a 3.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,589 shares of company stock worth $7,113,953 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.6 %

CAT opened at $406.11 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $391.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $357.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $247.84 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

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.