Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 12.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 46,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,691 shares during the quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $18,133,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $36,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 215.4% in the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on CAT. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $358.19.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $407.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $373.55 and a 200-day moving average of $351.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.77, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $233.57 and a 12-month high of $407.00.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,792 shares of company stock worth $3,515,978 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.