Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Purchased by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 3.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,570 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,787 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $18,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in 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 worth $1,286,582,000 after buying an additional 75,973 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5.7% during the second 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 last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $8,356,930,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131,276 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 10.4% in the 2nd 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 boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,020,100 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $740,225,000 after purchasing an additional 119,326 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 23,749 shares of company stock worth $9,251,912 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $362.40.

Caterpillar Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded down $14.84 during trading on Friday, reaching $393.37. The stock had a trading volume of 3,345,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,292,855. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $233.82 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $376.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $352.67. The stock has a market cap of $190.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.24, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.52 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. 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 (DPR) 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.