iA Global Asset Management Inc. Decreases Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 99.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 15,342 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $52,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Aire Advisors LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 9,042 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,510,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% in the second quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,954 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,923,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.9% in the second quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,669 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% in the second quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verum Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.5% in the second quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $547.38 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $596.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $256.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a fifty day moving average of $483.50 and a 200-day moving average of $413.75.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The company had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 31.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $594.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $485.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $502.00 to $557.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $584.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,605,586.40. This trade represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.33% 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.