Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Vivid Wealth Management LLC

Vivid Wealth Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 17.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,922 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,233 shares during the period. Caterpillar comprises about 1.1% of Vivid Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Vivid Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 36,842.1% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,299,751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,833,836,000 after purchasing an additional 7,279,991 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,165,899,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 546.6% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 843,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $327,297,000 after acquiring an additional 712,711 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Caterpillar by 425.2% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 761,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $295,738,000 after acquiring an additional 616,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 36.9% in the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,777,589 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $848,177,000 after purchasing an additional 478,972 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.22, for a total transaction of $686,664.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $757,047.06. The trade was a 47.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total transaction of $8,231,825.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 80,209 shares in the company, valued at $45,106,333.24. The trade was a 15.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,729 shares of company stock worth $31,084,308. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $629.52 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $630.98. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $580.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $496.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $294.60 billion, a PE ratio of 32.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The company had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.17 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America upped their target price on Caterpillar from $594.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $470.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $618.70.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.