Clarus Group Inc. Sells 773 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Clarus Group Inc. lessened its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 31.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,711 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 773 shares during the quarter. Clarus Group Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Fairman Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on CAT. UBS Group increased their price target on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Raymond James assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $355.50.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded down $1.84 on Monday, hitting $390.61. 567,888 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,633,371. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $223.76 and a one year high of $403.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average of $363.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $350.16. The company has a market capitalization of $191.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.55 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.46%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,347,825.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,825.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.