Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) CAO Sells $368,788.64 in Stock

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded down $1.98 on Monday, reaching $377.65. The stock had a trading volume of 1,044,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,616,826. The business’s 50 day moving average is $372.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $351.32. The company has a market cap of $183.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $233.57 and a 1 year high of $403.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.52 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.82 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. 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. UBS Group lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $358.19.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,327 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 5.6% during the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,591,000 after purchasing an additional 6,212 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth about $204,000. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,233,000 after buying an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 278,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $92,688,000 after buying an additional 9,321 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Company 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.