Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Position Trimmed by Cynosure Group LLC

Cynosure Group LLC reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 60.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,990 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 6,109 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 39,534.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,131,276 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its stake in Caterpillar by 3,319.7% during the second quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $91,606,000 after acquiring an additional 266,969 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at $97,042,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,501,554,000 after purchasing an additional 205,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 104.6% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 391,428 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $128,768,000 after purchasing an additional 200,134 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.8 %

Caterpillar stock traded down $3.30 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $404.53. The company had a trading volume of 555,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,591,330. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $246.01 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $389.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $356.75.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.52 EPS. Caterpillar's revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought 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 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 20,774 shares of company stock worth $8,233,034. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI cut Caterpillar from an "in-line" rating to an "underperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $365.33.

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.