William E. Schaupp Sells 968 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stock

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) 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 value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $383.37 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $373.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $351.65. The company has a market capitalization of $185.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $233.57 and a 52-week high of $403.60.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its 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 return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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 given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. 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 research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $358.19.

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.