Black Diamond Financial LLC Reduces Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Black Diamond Financial LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 10.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 97 shares during the quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $1,541,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Bank lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CAT. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,704 shares of company stock worth $7,226,584 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $339.84 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $368.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $372.72. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $307.05 and a twelve month 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. The company has a market cap of $162.42 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.