Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stock Position Lowered by GHP Investment Advisors Inc.

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 45 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 67.0% during the fourth quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 2,124 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $770,000 after buying an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. Fractal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 114.3% during the 4th quarter. Fractal Investments LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $544,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 24,404 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,859,000 after acquiring an additional 1,880 shares in the last quarter. Adero Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 892 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $767,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $363.84 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $377.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $371.18. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $175.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.13.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, 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 cost of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, 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 currently owned by corporate 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.