Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 155,861 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 46,059,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 155,861 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Caterpillar worth $17,880,804,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Compass Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 49.2% in the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maseco LLP bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $45,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of CAT opened at $550.87 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $508.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $430.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $257.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.28, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $596.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.38.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.17 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 8,184 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were 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 owned 41,512 shares in the company, valued at $23,669,312.16. The trade was a 16.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total transaction 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 represents a 15.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 86,229 shares of company stock worth $43,323,118. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on CAT. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $650.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $600.94.

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.