Meeder Asset Management Inc. Sells 192 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 71.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 78 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 192 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $31,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 5.6% during the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,591,000 after buying an additional 6,212 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at $204,000. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 33.7% in the third quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC now owns 16,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,485,000 after purchasing an additional 4,182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.5% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 278,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $92,688,000 after purchasing an additional 9,321 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 8.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,774 shares of company stock worth $8,233,034 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $390.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $188.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $241.81 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $384.76 and a 200 day moving average of $355.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI cut Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.33.

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.