Alerus Financial NA Sells 36 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Alerus Financial NA reduced its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 36 shares during the quarter. Alerus Financial NA’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at $191,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at about $40,586,000. Morton Community Bank lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 13.3% during the third quarter. Morton Community Bank now owns 846 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 6.0% during the third quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $969,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Encompass More Asset Management bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth about $225,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.6 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $406.11 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $391.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $357.73. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $247.84 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI cut shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Four 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.33.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. This represents a 3.65 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,589 shares of company stock valued at $7,113,953. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.