Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,650 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 60 shares during the quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $919,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $707,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.33.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $397.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $246.01 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $386.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $355.92. The stock has a market cap of $191.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.52 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 8.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. The trade was a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,774 shares of company stock worth $8,233,034 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Profile

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.