Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Lowers Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 156,695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,000 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $56,843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 47.2% during the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $375.31. 86,200 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,812,854. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $380.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $366.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.20 billion, a PE ratio of 17.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $276.94 and a 52-week high of $418.50. 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 (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. The trade was a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,906,356.84. This represents a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Three 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $380.60.

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.