Brendel Financial Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Brendel Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,403 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 491 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar makes up 2.1% of Brendel Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,356,930,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131,276 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 3,319.7% in the second quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,606,000 after acquiring an additional 266,969 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,874,000 after purchasing an additional 249,155 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,501,554,000 after purchasing an additional 205,012 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 34.4% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $305,908,000 after purchasing an additional 200,210 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $454.00 to $471.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $381.67.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $370.79 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $381.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $366.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.19, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $276.94 and a one year 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.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued 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 company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar 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.