Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stake Decreased by Malaga Cove Capital LLC

Malaga Cove Capital LLC decreased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 14,826 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 121 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar comprises 2.3% of Malaga Cove Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Malaga Cove Capital LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 215.4% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. The trade was 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 the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,906,356.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,792 shares of company stock worth $3,515,978 in the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $358.19.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $416.97 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $233.57 and a 12-month high of $418.30. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $374.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $352.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.19 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted 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 business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.82 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Caterpillar 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.