Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Position Boosted by Sanctuary Advisors LLC

Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 9.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 126,564 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,390 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $50,308,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 5.6% in the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $45,591,000 after acquiring an additional 6,212 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 43.0% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,437,000 after acquiring an additional 4,181 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at about $204,000. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,266 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Square Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 33.7% in the third quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC now owns 16,581 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,485,000 after buying an additional 4,182 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. The trade was a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target 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. Citigroup increased their target price on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar from an "in-line" rating to an "underperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $374.69.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded down $8.19 on Thursday, hitting $380.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,804,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,555,545. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $259.28 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The stock's 50-day moving average is $392.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $360.00. 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 company has a market capitalization of $183.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.10.

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). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for 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 firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar's payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

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.