Verity Asset Management Inc. Has $992,000 Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Verity Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 21.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,560 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 694 shares during the period. Verity Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $992,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CAT. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter worth $433,000. Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth about $243,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,297,882 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $475,583,000 after acquiring an additional 115,429 shares in the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co increased its stake in Caterpillar by 62.5% in the first quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 780 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 23.5% during the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 151,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,661,000 after purchasing an additional 28,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Three research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $358.19.

Caterpillar Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of CAT stock opened at $408.21 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $197.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $233.82 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $376.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $352.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company 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 in the previous year, the company posted $5.52 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. 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 is available through this link. In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,092 shares of company stock valued at $4,059,378. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Company 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.