Empowered Funds LLC Sells 113 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Empowered Funds LLC cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 51,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 113 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $20,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 8.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,171,646.75. The trade was a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,749 shares of company stock worth $9,251,912. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.33.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $386.85 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $186.77 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $379.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $353.59. 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 twelve month low of $241.81 and a twelve month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid 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 dividend yield of 1.46%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 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.