Bensler LLC Lowers Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Bensler LLC lowered its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,937 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 93 shares during the period. Bensler LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 1,974 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $716,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Effects LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 2,961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 8,063 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,925,000 after acquiring an additional 1,491 shares in the last quarter. MBE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 36.3% during the 4th quarter. MBE Wealth Management LLC now owns 717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KFA Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 80.8% during the 4th quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $509,000 after buying an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, 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.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE CAT opened at $390.68 on Tuesday. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $297.45 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $188.62 billion, a PE ratio of 18.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $381.07 and its 200 day moving average is $369.79.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly 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 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 21.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $384.60.

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.