Realta Investment Advisors Trims Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Realta Investment Advisors trimmed its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 41 shares during the quarter. Realta Investment Advisors’ holdings in Caterpillar were worth $869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 334.8% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% during the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 130.0% in the 4th quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CAT shares. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.13.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $365.54 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $378.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $371.22. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $307.05 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $176.48 billion, a PE ratio of 16.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued 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 return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. On average, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

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.