Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Spirit of America Management Corp NY

Spirit of America Management Corp NY trimmed its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Spirit of America Management Corp NY’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Bank raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $919,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was 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 directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were 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 approximately $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,936 shares of company stock valued at $11,558,971 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on CAT. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup increased their target price on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $379.50.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $362.21 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $380.00 and a 200-day moving average of $371.21. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $174.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

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.