Fractal Investments LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Fractal Investments LLC reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 70.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 442 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,058 shares during the quarter. Fractal Investments LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 1,060.0% in the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 8,184 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider directly owned 41,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,669,312.16. This represents a 16.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total value of $8,231,825.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 80,209 shares in the company, valued at $45,106,333.24. This trade represents a 15.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 54,729 shares of company stock worth $31,084,308 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CAT shares. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $729.00 target price (up previously from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wolfe Research raised their target price on Caterpillar from $470.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. HSBC upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $405.00 to $660.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $485.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $618.70.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $629.52 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market cap of $294.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $580.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $496.54. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $630.98.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $4.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.17 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.01%.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.