Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Has $8.74 Million Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,348 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 222 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Planning Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 127.1% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 3,218 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,801 shares during the period. BCM Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. BCM Advisors LLC now owns 7,056 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,657,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Peak Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter worth approximately $221,000. ROI Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at $279,000. Finally, Cable Hill Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 24.3% in the third quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 2,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $882,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,749 shares of company stock worth $9,251,912. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of CAT stock traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $387.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 84,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,610,031. The company has a market cap of $187.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.10. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $379.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $353.59. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $241.81 and a 52 week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.33.

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.