Insider Selling: Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Insider Sells 12,657 Shares of Stock

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at $29,171,646.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Caterpillar Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of CAT stock traded down $14.84 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $393.37. The company had a trading volume of 3,345,024 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,631,940. The company has a market capitalization of $190.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $376.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $352.75. 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 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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for 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%. Caterpillar's revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CAT. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,356,930,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131,276 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 306.9% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 407,677 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $149,385,000 after buying an additional 307,479 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3,319.7% in the 2nd 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 purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth approximately $97,042,000. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 99.9% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 488,660 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $179,060,000 after purchasing an additional 244,253 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America upped 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. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $358.19.

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.

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