Gradient Capital Advisors LLC Sells 217 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Gradient Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT – Get Rating) by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,755 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 217 shares during the period. Gradient Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,096,560 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $179,924,000 after buying an additional 105,271 shares in the last quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp increased its position in Caterpillar by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 29,701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,873,000 after buying an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Cowa LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 331,955 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $54,467,000 after buying an additional 2,941 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WealthShield Partners LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 68.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, General Counsel Suzette M. Long sold 1,884 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.28, for a total transaction of $447,035.52. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 8,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,056,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, General Counsel Suzette M. Long sold 1,884 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.28, for a total transaction of $447,035.52. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 8,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,056,031.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 23,737 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.14, for a total value of $5,700,203.18. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,066,404.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,915 shares of company stock valued at $13,452,445. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded down $1.96 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $255.65. The company had a trading volume of 360,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,056,728. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $160.60 and a twelve month high of $260.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $133.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $239.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $207.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 27th. The industrial products company reported $3.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.19 by $0.76. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 41.76% and a net margin of 13.02%. The firm had revenue of $14.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.34 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 13.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, January 20th will be issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 19th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $196.00 to $221.00 in a report on Friday, October 28th. Tigress Financial cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $282.00 to $266.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 30th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, October 12th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Caterpillar from $224.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Caterpillar from $218.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $241.00.

Caterpillar Profile

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Caterpillar, Inc engages in the manufacture of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. It operates through the following segments: Construction Industries, Resource Industries, Energy and Transportation, Financial Products, and All Other.