Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 12,312 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 481,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 12,312 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.10% of Caterpillar worth $188,286,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America increased their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the firm’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 value of $1,018,878.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,347,825.20. This trade represents a 16.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,749 shares of company stock worth $9,251,912. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE CAT opened at $384.07 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $241.81 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $381.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $354.20. The company has a market capitalization of $185.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.81, a PEG ratio of 1.90 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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company 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 business’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

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.