Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Reduces Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. cut its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 61,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,373 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $23,936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Gibson Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $213,000. Hamel Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hamel Associates Inc. now owns 2,478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $969,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Souders Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 3,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 6,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,429,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 253,620 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $99,196,000 after acquiring an additional 2,880 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded down $5.93 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $387.08. 360,305 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,613,150. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $377.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $353.01. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $241.81 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.52 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group raised 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, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,749 shares of company stock worth $9,251,912 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.