Fifth Third Bancorp Cuts Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Fifth Third Bancorp lessened its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 510,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,196 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp owned 0.11% of Caterpillar worth $185,014,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% in the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing 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 worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE CAT opened at $407.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $196.96 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $380.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $368.65. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $293.13 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.52 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,356.84. The trade was a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. The trade was a 3.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $380.60.

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.