Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Decreases Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 59.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,472 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related 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 value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 8.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,774 shares of company stock valued at $8,233,034 in the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock opened at $405.65 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $195.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.81, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $387.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $356.38. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $246.01 and a one year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40.

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 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 quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. 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. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.33.

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.