Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 52.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 231,387 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 251,919 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $90,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.2% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $919,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its position in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $707,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,466 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,356,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 23,749 shares of company stock worth $9,251,912. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on CAT. Barclays raised their target price on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $362.40.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded down $14.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $393.37. The company had a trading volume of 3,345,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,292,855. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $376.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $352.67. The stock has a market cap of $190.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $233.82 and a twelve month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.52 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

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.