Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Trustmark National Bank Trust Department

Trustmark National Bank Trust Department lowered its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 24.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,698 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,194 shares during the period. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,862,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,286,582,000 after acquiring an additional 75,973 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,069,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,022,488,000 after acquiring an additional 165,358 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted 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 worth $8,356,930,000 after buying an additional 2,131,276 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 10.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,108,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $702,431,000 after purchasing an additional 198,123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 6.3% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,020,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $740,225,000 after buying an additional 119,326 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total value of $543,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,079,968. This trade represents a 20.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,774 shares of company stock valued at $8,233,034. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on CAT. Bank of America upped their price target on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.33.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $381.44 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $241.81 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $384.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $355.22. The company has a market capitalization of $184.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for 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 period last year, the company posted $5.52 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.