Advisors Asset Management Inc. Reduces Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 14.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,070 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,985 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group raised their price target on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $365.33.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. This represents a 3.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,774 shares of company stock valued at $8,233,034 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:CAT 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 one year low of $241.81 and a one year high of $418.50. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $383.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $355.03. The stock has a market cap of $184.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company's revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date 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.

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