Quadrature Capital Ltd Sells 70,081 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Quadrature Capital Ltd reduced its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 70.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,067 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 70,081 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $11,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. DNB Asset Management AS bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at about $414,000. Lantz Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.9% during the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 4,181 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 4.2% in the second quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,865 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,619,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $44,878,000. Finally, Orrstown Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 11.0% in the second quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,510 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $503,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total value of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,079,968. The trade was a 20.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,714,323.35. This trade represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Four 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.33.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $399.51 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $392.68 and a 200 day moving average of $358.68. The stock has a market cap of $192.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.78 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.