Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Parkside Financial Bank & Trust

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust reduced its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 503 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,900,847,000 after purchasing an additional 111,384 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,830,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,864,823,000 after purchasing an additional 47,258 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 14.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,038,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,648,431,000 after buying an additional 781,111 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 28,603.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,494,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,417,360,000 after buying an additional 1,488,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5.4% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,399,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $382,168,000 after acquiring an additional 71,344 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.56.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 57,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,774,001.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,769 shares of company stock worth $14,509,306 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $2.51 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $365.76. 536,251 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,403,389. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $348.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $299.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $182.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.12, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.17. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $204.04 and a 1 year high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.06 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.86 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.82%.

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.