Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Smith Salley Wealth Management

Smith Salley Wealth Management cut its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,544 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 132 shares during the quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,715,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $879,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% during the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust increased its position in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, PFG Investments LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 5,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on CAT. Barclays lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $355.50.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $385.97 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.76 and a 12-month high of $403.60. The stock has a market cap of $188.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $368.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $350.95.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.55 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,347,825.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase 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 Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,825.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.