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

Aspen Investment Management Inc reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 110 shares during the quarter. Aspen Investment Management Inc’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,076,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 39,534.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,356,930,000 after buying an additional 2,131,276 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $99,874,000 after buying an additional 249,155 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 36,168.5% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,361,000 after buying an additional 226,415 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,501,554,000 after purchasing an additional 205,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in Caterpillar by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $305,908,000 after purchasing an additional 200,210 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. This trade represents a 15.76 % 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, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,704 shares of company stock worth $7,226,584 in the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.2 %

CAT opened at $348.84 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $370.18 and its 200-day moving average is $372.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $307.05 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird increased 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. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

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.