Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield Sells 10,000 Shares

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s 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 owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $5.23 during trading on Friday, hitting $385.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,418,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,944,908. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $277.66 and a 52 week 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. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $380.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $366.36. The company has a market capitalization of $186.25 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $380.60.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% 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.