Natixis Advisors LLC Has $90.16 Million Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Natixis Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 230,507 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 47,752 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $90,156,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:CAT traded down $3.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $384.07. The stock had a trading volume of 2,165,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,355,409. The business's 50 day moving average is $381.86 and its 200 day moving average is $354.20. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $241.81 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $185.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 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 the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.52 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 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 paid 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 payout ratio is 26.15%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company's stock, valued at $962,272.78. This trade represents a 3.65 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,749 shares of company stock worth $9,251,912. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America upped 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. Evercore ISI cut shares of Caterpillar from an "in-line" rating to an "underperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $365.33.

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.