Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Valley Wealth Managers Inc.

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lowered its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 13,950 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 145 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of CAT. Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.5% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 17,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,934,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,238 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,831,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Vectors Research Management LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5.9% during the third quarter. Vectors Research Management LLC now owns 2,969 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,161,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 38.0% in the 3rd quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC now owns 955 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 72,743 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,451,000 after purchasing an additional 3,051 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $11,750,181.12. This represents a 8.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,171,646.75. The trade was a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,749 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,912. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $0.07 on Friday, hitting $387.43. The company had a trading volume of 224,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,605,086. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $379.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $353.59. 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 company has a market cap of $187.05 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96, 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 results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 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 firm had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CAT. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial raised their price target on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.