Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Insider Lange Bob De Sells 22,656 Shares of Stock

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) insider Lange Bob De sold 22,656 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $720.11, for a total value of $16,314,812.16. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 79,953 shares in the company, valued at $57,574,954.83. This trade represents a 22.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Lange Bob De also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, February 4th, Lange Bob De sold 16,070 shares of Caterpillar stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $704.97, for a total value of $11,328,867.90.
• On Monday, February 2nd, Lange Bob De sold 15,977 shares of Caterpillar stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $682.99, for a total transaction of $10,912,131.23.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $742.51 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $743.50. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $620.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $532.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $347.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.58.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.49. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 45.76%. The business had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.14 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 32.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1,060.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 220.0% during the 4th quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CAT. Evercore upped their target price on Caterpillar from $476.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $677.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $702.00 to $756.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $678.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, January 30th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $690.90.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.