Searle & CO. Has $7.97 Million Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Searle & CO. lowered its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,373 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for 2.0% of Searle & CO.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Searle & CO.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $7,968,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 17.2% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,308,000 after buying an additional 1,327 shares during the period. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,591,000 after acquiring an additional 6,212 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at about $926,000. First Affirmative Financial Network bought a new position in Caterpillar during the third quarter worth about $204,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 25.8% in the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on CAT. Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $355.50.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE CAT traded down $2.24 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $386.22. The stock had a trading volume of 319,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,625,364. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $223.76 and a 1 year high of $403.60. The stock has a market cap of $188.88 billion, a PE ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $365.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $350.37.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The firm had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.55 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.46%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $962,272.78. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is 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.