Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Associated Banc Corp

Associated Banc Corp cut its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,727 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,583 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $22,578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% in the third quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the third 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. Washington Trust Bank boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $919,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% in the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $707,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. This represents a 8.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. This represents a 3.65 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,774 shares of company stock worth $8,233,034 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.9 %

CAT traded up $7.62 during trading on Monday, reaching $405.11. 347,447 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,585,329. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $386.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $356.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.59 billion, a PE ratio of 18.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $246.01 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released 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). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.33.

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.