Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Hancock Whitney Corp

Hancock Whitney Corp cut its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 57 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,022,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the 2nd 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 8.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,774 shares of company stock valued at $8,233,034 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group boosted 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, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.33.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of CAT stock opened at $407.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $246.01 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. 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 50 day moving average price of $389.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $356.75.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

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.