Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. Lowers Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. lessened its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 80 shares during the quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,493,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 39,534.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,356,930,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131,276 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 3,319.7% in the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,606,000 after purchasing an additional 266,969 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 4,018.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,874,000 after buying an additional 249,155 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,501,554,000 after buying an additional 205,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in Caterpillar by 34.4% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $305,908,000 after acquiring an additional 200,210 shares in the last quarter. 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 Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,356.84. This trade represents a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. This trade represents a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $384.33.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $363.53. 1,587,192 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,436,498. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $384.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $364.57. The company has a market capitalization of $175.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.85, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $276.94 and a twelve month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

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.