Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Sells 184 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc reduced its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,050 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 184 shares during the quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $802,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 17.2% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,591,000 after buying an additional 6,212 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the third quarter worth $204,000. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 25.8% during the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,233,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 3.5% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 278,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $92,688,000 after acquiring an additional 9,321 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Three equities 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $358.19.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,347,825.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. 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. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,792 shares of company stock worth $3,515,978. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $416.97 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $233.57 and a fifty-two week high of $418.30. The company has a market cap of $202.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $374.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $352.11.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders 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 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Caterpillar 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.