Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Virtue Capital Management LLC

Virtue Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 35.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,440 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 786 shares during the quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Trivium Point Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 132.9% during the second quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 9.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 78,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,037,000 after purchasing an additional 7,125 shares during the last quarter. Palmer Knight Co acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth approximately $5,884,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 14,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,557,000 after buying an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth approximately $427,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $576.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $269.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.51. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $596.21. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $530.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $443.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th were given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 8,184 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.18, for a total transaction of $4,666,353.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,669,312.16. This represents a 16.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total transaction of $8,231,825.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 80,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,106,333.24. This trade represents a 15.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 86,229 shares of company stock worth $43,323,118 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CAT shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $560.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on Caterpillar from $506.00 to $581.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $610.32.

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.