Sage Investment Counsel LLC Acquires Shares of 2,014 Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sage Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 2,014 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $731,000. Caterpillar makes up about 1.0% of Sage Investment Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James upgraded Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. 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. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $343.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $164.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $365.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $372.71. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $307.05 and a 1-year high of $418.50. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal 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 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.56%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, 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 value of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. The trade was a 3.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Company 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.