Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 7,595 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 259,709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,595 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $101,577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust boosted its position in Caterpillar by 4.0% during the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $919,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% in the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $707,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on CAT shares. Evercore ISI cut Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research note 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. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. The trade was a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,774 shares of company stock worth $8,233,034. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $403.65 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a market cap of $194.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $390.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $357.08. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $246.01 and a 12-month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.52 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 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.