Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp trimmed its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 510,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,196 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $185,014,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 42.9% during the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 130.0% in the fourth quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $407.95 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $196.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $293.13 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $380.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $368.65.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.52 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of Caterpillar 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 owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold a total of 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $380.60.

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.