Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Watershed Private Wealth LLC

Watershed Private Wealth LLC decreased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 122 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar makes up 0.8% of Watershed Private Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Watershed Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 130.0% during the 4th quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.2 %

CAT stock opened at $390.29 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $381.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $370.23. The company has a market capitalization of $188.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $297.45 and a 52 week 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.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. 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 research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $295.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $384.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total value of $543,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,079,968. The trade was a 20.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the 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. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. 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. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.