Archer Investment Corp Cuts Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Archer Investment Corp lowered its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 870 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 2.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust raised its stake in Caterpillar by 4.0% during the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank raised its stake in Caterpillar by 1.2% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $919,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its stake in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors increased its position in Caterpillar by 0.8% during 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total transaction of $543,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at $2,079,968. The trade was a 20.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,749 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,912. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of CAT stock traded down $1.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $385.51. 264,257 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,605,050. The stock has a market cap of $186.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $379.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $353.59. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $241.81 and a 52-week high of $418.50. 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 (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $16.11 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI cut shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.33.

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.