Cambridge Advisors Inc. Trims Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Cambridge Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 60 shares during the period. Caterpillar makes up 0.8% of Cambridge Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Cambridge Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Channel Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $533,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $707,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,356.84. This trade represents a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $380.60.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $386.03 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $277.66 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $186.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.90, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $380.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $367.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

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.