Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Holdings Cut by Lakewood Asset Management LLC

Lakewood Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,304 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 31 shares during the period. Lakewood Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,199,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in 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. Washington Trust Bank increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.2% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $919,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $707,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $380.60.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $375.75 on Thursday. 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 one year low of $276.94 and a one year high of $418.50. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $380.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $366.26. The stock has a market cap of $181.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.