Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) is Cutler Investment Counsel LLC’s 6th Largest Position

Cutler Investment Counsel LLC cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 64,459 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,774 shares during the period. Caterpillar accounts for 3.2% of Cutler Investment Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $25,211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded down $3.29 on Friday, reaching $384.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,165,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,613,751. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $381.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $354.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $185.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $241.81 and a 52-week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. The trade was a 3.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. This represents a 8.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,749 shares of company stock worth $9,251,912 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI cut Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.33.

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.