Ascent Wealth Partners LLC Sells 208 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC lessened its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,324 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 208 shares during the quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at $672,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at $433,000. SPC Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at $238,000. CFO4Life Group LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. Finally, Duality Advisers LP raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 117.5% during the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 12,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,522,000 after acquiring an additional 6,666 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,792 shares of company stock worth $3,515,978. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $358.19.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE CAT traded down $4.53 during trading on Thursday, hitting $412.35. 296,996 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,614,709. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $374.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $352.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $233.82 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The firm has a market cap of $199.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.33, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.82 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

About Caterpillar

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.