Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,547 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,740 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $12,190,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 8.5% in the second quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $938,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.1% in the second quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.9% during the second quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 3,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,336,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $575.06, for a total transaction of $5,750,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 45,460 shares in the company, valued at $26,142,227.60. The trade was a 18.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 10,671 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $680.45, for a total value of $7,261,081.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,001,197.95. This represents a 20.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 120,747 shares of company stock worth $78,324,008. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 4.1%

NYSE CAT traded up $28.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $706.37. The stock had a trading volume of 302,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,737,583. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The company has a market capitalization of $330.57 billion, a PE ratio of 37.35, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $614.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $526.79. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $723.16.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $19.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 45.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.14 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 32.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. CICC Research started coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $587.00 to $658.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $805.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, HSBC raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $660.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $690.90.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.