Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC Sells 200 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC lessened its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,886 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,410,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Wagner Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $919,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Channel Wealth LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.6 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $340.68 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $366.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $372.66. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $307.05 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar 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 directly 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. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on CAT. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their target price on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

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.