National Pension Service Sells 3,274 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

National Pension Service cut its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.3% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 994,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,274 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $385,998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 36,842.1% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,833,836,000 after purchasing an additional 7,279,991 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 6.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,204,445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,386,626,000 after purchasing an additional 264,054 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,089,798,000 after buying an additional 15,347 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 9.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,229,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,064,951,000 after buying an additional 268,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,141,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,036,211,000 after buying an additional 150,533 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $567.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $497.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $423.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $265.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.15, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $596.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.17 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 31.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $405.00 to $660.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $570.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Erste Group Bank raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $408.00 to $569.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $596.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.22, for a total value of $686,664.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $757,047.06. This trade represents a 47.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total transaction of $8,673,808.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 448,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $226,457,335.17. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 69,662 shares of company stock worth $33,575,140 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.