Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,590,000 shares, a decrease of 10.3% from the October 15th total of 11,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,340,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 8.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of Caterpillar 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 sale, the insider now owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 23,749 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,912. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,987,206,000 after acquiring an additional 67,148 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,501,554,000 after acquiring an additional 205,012 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,862,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,286,582,000 after acquiring an additional 75,973 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,418,793,000 after acquiring an additional 64,452 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,227,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,262,290,000 after acquiring an additional 8,088 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT traded down $2.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $382.33. 1,772,256 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,605,664. The company has a market capitalization of $184.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar has a one year low of $241.81 and a one year high of $418.50. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $382.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $354.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.33.

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.