Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Qtron Investments LLC

Qtron Investments LLC reduced its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,409 shares during the period. Qtron Investments LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc raised its position in Caterpillar by 49.2% in the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $650.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $476.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $729.00 price objective (up previously from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group upped their price target on Caterpillar from $506.00 to $581.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $408.00 to $569.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $610.32.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $603.27 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $607.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $542.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $451.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $282.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.17 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 300 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $568.86 per share, with a total value of $170,658.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 7,947 shares in the company, valued at $4,520,730.42. The trade was a 3.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 8,184 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.18, for a total transaction of $4,666,353.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,669,312.16. This represents a 16.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 79,061 shares of company stock valued at $41,949,366. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.