Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Insider Sells $16,314,812.16 in Stock

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) insider Lange Bob De sold 22,656 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $720.11, for a total transaction of $16,314,812.16. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 79,953 shares in the company, valued at $57,574,954.83. This trade represents a 22.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Lange Bob De also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, February 4th, Lange Bob De sold 16,070 shares of Caterpillar stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $704.97, for a total value of $11,328,867.90.
• On Monday, February 2nd, Lange Bob De sold 15,977 shares of Caterpillar stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $682.99, for a total transaction of $10,912,131.23.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.9%

NYSE:CAT traded up $14.12 on Monday, hitting $740.32. The stock had a trading volume of 1,599,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,818,139. The company has a market cap of $346.45 billion, a PE ratio of 39.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $740.83. The business’s fifty day moving average is $617.15 and its 200 day moving average is $530.49.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.49. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.76% and a net margin of 13.14%.The business had revenue of $19.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.14 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 32.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $2,165,899,000. Groupe la Francaise lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 82.0% in the second quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 27,246 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,820,000 after acquiring an additional 12,278 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 155.9% during the 3rd quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 47,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,014,000 after purchasing an additional 28,773 shares during the last quarter. ZEGA Investments LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 149.6% during the third quarter. ZEGA Investments LLC now owns 4,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,996,000 after acquiring an additional 2,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Palmer Knight Co acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,884,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair set a $735.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $677.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $690.90.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.