Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Freedom Investment Management Inc.

Freedom Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,911 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 302 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its position 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 worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI cut Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.33.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $403.65 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $194.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $390.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $357.08. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $246.01 and a fifty-two 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 earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st were given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

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 stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 value of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. This represents a 8.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,774 shares of company stock worth $8,233,034 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by 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.