Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,760,000 shares, a decline of 7.8% from the October 31st total of 10,590,000 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.2 days.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total transaction of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,079,968. This represents a 20.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,589 shares of company stock valued at $7,113,953 over the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% during 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 buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust lifted its position in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $919,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $707,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,356,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded down $3.58 during trading on Monday, hitting $402.53. 1,548,474 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,587,731. The company has a market cap of $194.34 billion, a PE ratio of 18.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar has a 52-week low of $252.42 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $391.37 and a 200 day moving average of $357.73.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 21.67 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays raised their target price on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.33.

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.