F M Investments LLC Sells 1,344 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

F M Investments LLC decreased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 31,564 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,344 shares during the quarter. F M Investments LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $12,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 2,131,276 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 306.9% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 407,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $149,385,000 after buying an additional 307,479 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3,319.7% during the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,606,000 after buying an additional 266,969 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at $97,042,000. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 33,442 shares in the company, valued at $11,750,181.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,272.78. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on CAT. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $357.56.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock traded up $3.43 on Friday, hitting $379.63. The company had a trading volume of 1,633,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,624,214. The firm has a market cap of $184.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $232.88 and a twelve month high of $403.60. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $372.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $351.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

About Caterpillar

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.