Insider Selling: Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Director Sells $952,840.00 in Stock

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Director Susan Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $417.4240 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $404.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $357.31. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $441.15. The stock has a market cap of $195.55 billion, a PE ratio of 21.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.The business had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.99 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st were issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 30.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $450.87.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victrix Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $2,090,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,089,798,000 after purchasing an additional 15,347 shares in the last quarter. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $579,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 18.6% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 191,640 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $63,202,000 after purchasing an additional 30,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.4% during the first quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 22,689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,483,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.