W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co Invests $269,000 in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co acquired a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 687 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $269,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% during 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. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at $11,750,181.12. This represents a 8.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction 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 approximately $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,749 shares of company stock worth $9,251,912. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT opened at $384.53 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $241.81 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $185.65 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $381.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $354.37. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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 issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.33.

About Caterpillar

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.