Proficio Capital Partners LLC Sells 484 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,604 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 484 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Essex Savings Bank raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 6,244 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,442,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Field & Main Bank grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 7,828 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,062,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 4,585 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,793,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Objective Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $717,000. Finally, Scott & Selber Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $215,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the topic of several 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 cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $362.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,749 shares of company stock worth $9,251,912. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $393.37 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $376.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $352.75. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $233.82 and a one year high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $190.75 billion, a PE ratio of 18.24, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

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.