Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. Sells 601 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,221 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 601 shares during the quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,042,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.6% in the third quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Souders Financial Advisors raised its stake in Caterpillar by 0.8% during the second quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 3,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,218,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.2% in the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 2,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $878,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 11,659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,560,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of CAT stock traded down $1.09 on Friday, hitting $385.97. The stock had a trading volume of 1,606,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,622,578. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.76 and a 12-month high of $403.60. The stock has a market cap of $188.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day moving average of $368.57 and a 200 day moving average of $350.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $16.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.88% and a net margin of 16.58%. The company’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.55 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 25.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total value of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,750,181.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $380.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $355.50.

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.