Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Venture Visionary Partners LLC

Venture Visionary Partners LLC decreased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 28,508 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,789 shares during the quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $13,603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 49.2% in the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $408.00 to $569.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Citigroup raised Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “mixed” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $476.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $612.16.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE:CAT opened at $590.11 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $276.16 billion, a PE ratio of 30.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.57. The business’s 50 day moving average is $556.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $464.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $627.50.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 31.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 80,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,106,333.24. This represents a 15.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total value of $6,034,465.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,649 shares in the company, valued at $4,874,576.40. The trade was a 55.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 79,061 shares of company stock worth $41,949,366. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.