Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Sells 1,877 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC cut its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 10.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,462 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,877 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CAT. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $672,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth about $379,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $433,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 3,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,539 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $358.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,128 shares of company stock worth $2,506,748 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.0 %

CAT traded up $3.75 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $380.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 62,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,608,389. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $233.57 and a fifty-two week high of $403.60. The stock has a market cap of $184.39 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50-day moving average is $372.91 and its 200-day moving average is $351.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Caterpillar Company 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.