Cheryl H. Johnson Sells 2,664 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stock

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,356.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of CAT stock traded up $6.85 on Tuesday, hitting $383.37. The stock had a trading volume of 1,707,778 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,616,148. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $185.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $233.57 and a 1 year high of $403.60. The company's 50 day moving average price is $372.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $351.45.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.52 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 3,798.7% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 91,424 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,758,000 after acquiring an additional 89,079 shares during the period. Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $803,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80,565 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,511,000 after acquiring an additional 14,474 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,579,000. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 29,069 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,369,000 after acquiring an additional 2,128 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays upped their target price on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $358.19.

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.