Valley National Advisers Inc. Has $755,000 Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Valley National Advisers Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 77.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,583 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,358 shares during the quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $755,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CAT. J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at $200,000. Sunburst Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at $234,000. Paradiem LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.7% in the third quarter. Paradiem LLC now owns 33,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,789,000 after buying an additional 1,492 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% in the third quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 11,951 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,702,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sovereign Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,049 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $978,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $583.09 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $568.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $477.54. The stock has a market cap of $272.88 billion, a PE ratio of 29.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $627.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.17 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.44, for a total value of $5,714,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 55,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,692,062.40. This trade represents a 15.28% 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, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total transaction of $6,034,465.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,874,576.40. This trade represents a 55.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 61,895 shares of company stock valued at $34,007,516. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. HSBC raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $405.00 to $660.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $594.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $560.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $616.00.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.