Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Howe & Rusling Inc.

Howe & Rusling Inc. cut its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 10.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,386 shares during the quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,356,930,000 after purchasing an additional 2,131,276 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Caterpillar by 306.9% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 407,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $149,385,000 after acquiring an additional 307,479 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 3,319.7% in the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,606,000 after acquiring an additional 266,969 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth approximately $97,042,000. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 99.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 488,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $179,060,000 after purchasing an additional 244,253 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $382.26 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $241.81 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $184.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business has a 50-day moving average of $383.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $355.03.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on CAT. Evercore ISI cut Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. This represents a 3.65 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,749 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,912. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.