Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Insider Sells $4,356,730.95 in Stock

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) insider Anthony Fassino sold 6,033 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.15, for a total value of $4,356,730.95. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,717,194.65. This represents a 12.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $14.12 during trading on Monday, hitting $740.32. 1,599,325 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,818,139. The company has a market cap of $346.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.34, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $740.83. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $617.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $530.49.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 45.76%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.09%.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at $2,165,899,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3,949.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,228,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,494,568,000 after purchasing an additional 5,098,964 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1,851.8% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,830,414 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $873,382,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736,631 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 573.1% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,504,612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $861,947,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281,087 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Caterpillar by 425.2% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 761,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $295,738,000 after acquiring an additional 616,739 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on CAT. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Caterpillar from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $470.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $677.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $710.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, William Blair set a $735.00 price target on Caterpillar in a report on Friday, January 30th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $690.90.

Caterpillar Company Profile

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.