State Street Corp Sells 213,914 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

State Street Corp decreased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,949,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 213,914 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned about 0.08% of Caterpillar worth $13,955,768,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of CAT. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $32,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Harbor Asset Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at $34,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. HSBC upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $405.00 to $660.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $560.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $610.32.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total transaction of $8,231,825.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 80,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,106,333.24. This represents a 15.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,166 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.29, for a total value of $8,673,808.14. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 448,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,457,335.17. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 79,061 shares of company stock valued at $41,949,366. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $595.99 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $544.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $455.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $278.91 billion, a PE ratio of 30.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.57. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $607.00.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th were paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.01%.

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.