Fmr LLC Trims Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Fmr LLC lessened its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,853,946 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 482,795 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,898,475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,501,554,000 after buying an additional 205,012 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,862,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,286,582,000 after acquiring an additional 75,973 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,227,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,262,290,000 after purchasing an additional 8,088 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,069,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,022,488,000 after purchasing an additional 165,358 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 39,534.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,356,930,000 after purchasing an additional 2,131,276 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,774 shares of company stock valued at $8,233,034. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $407.82 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $389.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $356.75. The firm has a market cap of $196.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.10. 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 one year low of $246.01 and a one year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.52 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America upped their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.33.

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.