Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Primecap Management Co. CA

Primecap Management Co. CA lowered its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,485,456 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 137,271 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $580,992,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 17.2% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 17.9% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,835,000 after buying an additional 1,588 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 99.9% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 488,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $179,060,000 after buying an additional 244,253 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Caterpillar by 6.3% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,020,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $740,225,000 after purchasing an additional 119,326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in Caterpillar by 306.9% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 407,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $149,385,000 after purchasing an additional 307,479 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CAT. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup decreased their price target 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total value of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at $2,079,968. The trade was a 20.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,774 shares of company stock valued at $8,233,034. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $381.44 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $184.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.10. 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’s 50-day moving average is $383.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $355.03. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $241.81 and a 12-month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

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.