Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Insider Sells $16,314,812.16 in Stock

Key Points

• Insider selling: Lange Bob De sold 22,656 shares on Feb. 6 at an average of $720.11 for $16.31M and also sold 16,070 (Feb. 4) and 15,977 (Feb. 2), totaling 54,703 shares (~$38.55M) in early February, cutting his stake by 22.08% to 79,953 shares (~$57.6M).
• Earnings beat and stock move: Caterpillar reported Q results with EPS $5.16 vs. $4.67 expected and revenue $19.13B vs. $17.81B (revenue +17.9% y/y), and the stock traded up to $740.32 (+1.9%).
• Dividend and analyst stance: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.51 ($6.04 annualized, ~0.8% yield), while analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $690.90.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) insider Lange Bob De sold 22,656 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $720.11, for a total value of $16,314,812.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 79,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,574,954.83. This represents a 22.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Lange Bob De also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, February 4th, Lange Bob De sold 16,070 shares of Caterpillar stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $704.97, for a total value of $11,328,867.90.
• On Monday, February 2nd, Lange Bob De sold 15,977 shares of Caterpillar stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $682.99, for a total transaction of $10,912,131.23.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE:CAT traded up $14.12 on Monday, reaching $740.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,599,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,818,139. The firm has a market cap of $346.45 billion, a PE ratio of 39.34, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.58. The business's 50-day moving average price is $617.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $530.49. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $740.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $19.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.76% and a net margin of 13.14%.Caterpillar's revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Argus raised their target price on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. CICC Research began coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $610.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $690.90.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CAT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $2,165,899,000. Groupe la Francaise increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 82.0% in the 2nd quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 27,246 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $10,820,000 after buying an additional 12,278 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA lifted its position in Caterpillar by 155.9% in the 3rd quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 47,231 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $21,014,000 after acquiring an additional 28,773 shares in the last quarter. ZEGA Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 149.6% during the third quarter. ZEGA Investments LLC now owns 4,184 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,996,000 after purchasing an additional 2,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Palmer Knight Co bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,884,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company's product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.

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