Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Wharton Business Group LLC

Wharton Business Group LLC lowered its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 52,808 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,010 shares during the quarter. Wharton Business Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $19,157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake in Caterpillar by 334.8% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC boosted its position in 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,704 shares of company stock worth $7,226,584. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report 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 given 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 $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $339.84 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $368.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $372.72.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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 forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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