Ellsworth Advisors LLC Sells 937 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC lowered its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,686 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 937 shares during the period. Caterpillar accounts for about 1.6% of Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Client 1ST Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $203,000. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $235,000. Liberty One Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 13,264 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,811,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $11,084,000. Finally, Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC now owns 41,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,988,000 after buying an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America upped their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $380.60.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $386.03 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $186.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.90, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $380.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $367.29. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $277.66 and a twelve month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its 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). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.52 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 value of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.