Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 951 shares during the period. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $9,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 334.8% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 130.0% during the 4th quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $339.84 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $307.05 and a one year high of $418.50. The company has a market cap of $162.42 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $368.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $372.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,704 shares of company stock worth $7,226,584 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. StockNews.com upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

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.