Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC Sells 74 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC decreased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,146 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 74 shares during the period. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the third quarter worth about $36,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2,160.0% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% in the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $0.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $380.95. 287,874 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,545,760. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $392.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $360.00. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $270.55 and a 1-year high of $418.50.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI cut shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $374.69.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.