Capital Investment Counsel LLC Lowers Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Capital Investment Counsel LLC lowered its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,691 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 293 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar comprises about 1.4% of Capital Investment Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Capital Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Ascent Group LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 19.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $317,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $229,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 11.1% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,874,000 after buying an additional 1,166 shares during the period. Regency Capital Management Inc. DE boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 8.1% in the second quarter. Regency Capital Management Inc. DE now owns 10,996 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,663,000 after acquiring an additional 825 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 4,081 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,360,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,356.84. The trade was a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total transaction of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,079,968. This represents a 20.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $384.60.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.2 %

CAT stock opened at $390.29 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $381.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $370.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $297.45 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The company has a market cap of $188.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.52 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

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.