Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Hantz Financial Services Inc.

Hantz Financial Services Inc. decreased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,486 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 840 shares during the quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $9,894,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 49.2% in the first quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 94 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Melius upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $502.00 to $557.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $562.25.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $582.30 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $272.80 billion, a PE ratio of 29.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.46. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $596.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company’s 50 day moving average is $475.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $406.43.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.17 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.72%.

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.