Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Sells 383 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 383 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avestar Capital LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 3,214 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,257,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 5.1% in the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,785 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 14,545 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,689,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 12.0% during the third quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 23,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,011,000 after purchasing an additional 2,469 shares during the period. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,123,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE CAT traded down $1.39 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $404.26. The company had a trading volume of 338,454 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,593,555. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $246.01 and a 1-year high of $418.50. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $387.97 and its 200-day moving average is $356.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.10.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.52 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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. This represents a 8.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,774 shares of company stock worth $8,233,034 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on CAT. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.