Versor Investments LP Sells 1,900 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Versor Investments LP lowered its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 70.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,900 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $338.59 per share, with a total value of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The trade was a 3.65 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,749 shares of company stock valued at $9,251,912 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $384.08 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a market capitalization of $185.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $380.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $353.83. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $241.81 and a twelve month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.52 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.33.

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.