Insider Selling: Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Insider Sells 10,707 Shares of Stock

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total transaction of $6,034,465.20. Following the sale, the insider 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. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock traded down $27.35 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $545.67. 1,795,740 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,790,964. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $255.36 billion, a PE ratio of 28.07, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $501.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $424.34.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. 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 analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The company’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.17 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 31.01%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1,060.0% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% during the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CAT. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $485.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. HSBC raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $405.00 to $660.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $594.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $596.59.

About Caterpillar

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.