Raymond James Trust N.A. Purchases 224 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,678 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $9,261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. This trade represents a 8.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total transaction of $543,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,079,968. This trade represents a 20.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,774 shares of company stock valued at $8,233,034. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $390.26 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $385.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $355.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $188.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $241.81 and a one year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its 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). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.