Capital Square LLC Has $661,000 Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Capital Square LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 316 shares during the period. Capital Square LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 71.0% during the 1st quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,864 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $683,000 after acquiring an additional 774 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,272,000. Waverly Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 60.8% during the 1st quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 10,620 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,891,000 after acquiring an additional 4,014 shares during the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at about $2,743,000. Finally, Sweeney & Michel LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth about $512,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. The trade was a 3.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,774 shares of company stock worth $8,233,034. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT traded up $8.74 on Monday, reaching $406.23. The company had a trading volume of 378,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,586,205. The company’s fifty day moving average is $386.81 and its 200 day moving average is $356.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market cap of $196.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $246.01 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.52 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. 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. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.33.

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.