Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) CFO Andrew Bonfield Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) CFO Andrew Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.44, for a total transaction of $5,714,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 55,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,692,062.40. This represents a 15.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Caterpillar Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of CAT stock opened at $582.68 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $272.68 billion, a PE ratio of 29.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.38. The business’s fifty day moving average is $534.56 and its 200 day moving average is $447.95. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $596.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.17 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.01%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 1,060.0% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc grew its stake in Caterpillar by 49.2% during the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $570.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $476.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday. Barclays lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $485.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $610.32.

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.