Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC lessened its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,043 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 48 shares during the quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,862,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,286,582,000 after buying an additional 75,973 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,069,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,022,488,000 after purchasing an additional 165,358 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 39,534.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,356,930,000 after purchasing an additional 2,131,276 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 10.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,108,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $702,431,000 after purchasing an additional 198,123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 6.3% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,020,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $740,225,000 after purchasing an additional 119,326 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $376.52 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $182.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $233.57 and a 12 month high of $403.60. The company’s 50 day moving average is $372.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $351.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 last year, the firm posted $5.52 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CAT. UBS Group boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays raised their target price 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. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $358.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,128 shares of company stock valued at $2,506,748. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.