Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Ieq Capital LLC

Ieq Capital LLC lessened its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 34.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,830 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,722,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT grew its holdings in 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 period. Kimelman & Baird LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of CAT opened at $348.84 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $307.05 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $370.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $372.40. The company has a market capitalization of $166.72 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at $13,714,323.35. This trade represents a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,704 shares of company stock valued at $7,226,584 over the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is owned by 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.