Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Bill Few Associates Inc.

Bill Few Associates Inc. lessened its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 14.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,104 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 358 shares during the quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $919,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Channel Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $707,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on CAT. Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $380.60.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.2 %

CAT opened at $397.68 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $287.52 and a one year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $379.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $368.17.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.52 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

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.