Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Reduces Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 65,847 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,418 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $25,754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust grew its position in Caterpillar by 4.0% during the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank increased its stake in Caterpillar by 1.2% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $919,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $707,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $384.07 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $381.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $354.07. The stock has a market cap of $185.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.81, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $241.81 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. The trade was a 3.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,749 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,912. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. 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. Evercore ISI downgraded Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.