Ellsworth Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 16,686 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 937 shares during the period. Caterpillar makes up approximately 1.6% of Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,053,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 42.9% in the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 130.0% during the fourth quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $386.03 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $380.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $367.29. The company has a market cap of $186.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $277.66 and a 12 month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389 in the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $380.60.

Caterpillar Company 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.