Empirical Finance LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Empirical Finance LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,486 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 242 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,343,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 89.6% during the 4th quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 1,365 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. now owns 5,899 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,140,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Counterweight Ventures LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Counterweight Ventures LLC now owns 3,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,439,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Forbes J M & Co. LLP lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. Forbes J M & Co. LLP now owns 1,701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $617,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 22,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,137,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the business’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 value of $2,565,536.61. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. The trade was a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial cut their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price 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, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.13.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $363.84 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $376.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $371.29. The stock has a market cap of $175.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $307.05 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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