Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Position Reduced by Beacon Financial Group

Beacon Financial Group reduced its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,233 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 112 shares during the quarter. Beacon Financial Group’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning raised its position in Caterpillar by 1.7% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 227,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $89,142,000 after acquiring an additional 3,772 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 282,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $110,303,000 after purchasing an additional 11,487 shares during the last quarter. Oxinas Partners Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $217,000. ERn Financial LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the third quarter worth approximately $220,000. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the third quarter worth approximately $201,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.13.

Caterpillar Trading Down 2.8 %

NYSE CAT opened at $352.10 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $169.99 billion, a PE ratio of 15.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $307.05 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $375.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $371.95.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 25.56%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.