ING Groep NV Sells 202,355 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

ING Groep NV trimmed its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 67.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 96,128 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 202,355 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $37,598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $387.36. The stock had a trading volume of 1,371,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,615,852. The business's fifty day moving average is $379.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $353.59. 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 company has a market cap of $187.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $241.81 and a twelve month high of $418.50.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price 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. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $365.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at $11,750,181.12. This represents a 8.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,825.20. The trade was a 16.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar 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.