Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Sells 1,379 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 24.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,298 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,379 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,165,899,000. Groupe la Francaise boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 82.0% during the second quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 27,246 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,820,000 after purchasing an additional 12,278 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 155.9% in the 3rd quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 47,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,014,000 after buying an additional 28,773 shares during the period. ZEGA Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 149.6% in the 3rd quarter. ZEGA Investments LLC now owns 4,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,996,000 after buying an additional 2,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palmer Knight Co acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $5,884,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 22,656 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $720.11, for a total transaction of $16,314,812.16. Following the transaction, the insider owned 79,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,574,954.83. The trade was a 22.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 10,671 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $680.45, for a total value of $7,261,081.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 41,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,001,197.95. The trade was a 20.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 130,545 shares of company stock valued at $88,294,733 in the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. William Blair set a $735.00 price target on Caterpillar in a report on Friday, January 30th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Caterpillar from $729.00 to $786.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $587.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $805.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $690.90.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $742.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $347.48 billion, a PE ratio of 39.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.58. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $743.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $620.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $532.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.49. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 45.76%. The firm had revenue of $19.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.14 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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

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.