Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Position Decreased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,059,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 155,861 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.83% of Caterpillar worth $17,880,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 35.5% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 14,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,623,000 after purchasing an additional 3,675 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.8% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 37,269 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,291,000 after buying an additional 1,368 shares during the period. Finally, 4WEALTH Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 30.0% during the first quarter. 4WEALTH Advisors Inc. now owns 1,401 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total value of $8,231,825.68. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 80,209 shares in the company, valued at $45,106,333.24. This trade represents a 15.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.22, for a total transaction of $686,664.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $757,047.06. The trade was a 47.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 86,229 shares of company stock valued at $43,323,118 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective 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. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $405.00 to $660.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $600.94.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.6%

Caterpillar stock opened at $550.87 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $596.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $508.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $430.29. The firm has a market cap of $257.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The business had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 31.01%.

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.