Vicus Capital Sells 942 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Vicus Capital trimmed its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 64.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 527 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 942 shares during the period. Vicus Capital’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 306.9% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 407,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $149,385,000 after purchasing an additional 307,479 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd boosted its position in Caterpillar by 3,319.7% during the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,606,000 after buying an additional 266,969 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth $97,042,000. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 99.9% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 488,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $179,060,000 after acquiring an additional 244,253 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 104.6% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 391,428 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $128,768,000 after acquiring an additional 200,134 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

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

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $388.48 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $189.99 billion, a PE ratio of 17.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.76 and a 1-year high of $403.60. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $365.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $350.37.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The business had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.55 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI dropped 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $355.50.

Caterpillar 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.