Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC Sells 30 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC lowered its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,232 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 30 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.6% during the third quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $919,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $707,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $384.53 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $185.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $241.81 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $382.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $354.71.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.52 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued 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 1.47%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value 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 trade represents a 8.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,749 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,912 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar 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.