Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Sells 75 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,968 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,060,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CAT. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 28,603.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,494,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,417,360,000 after buying an additional 1,488,813 shares during the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 2,265.3% in the third quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,117,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $305,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070,570 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 14.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,038,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,648,431,000 after purchasing an additional 781,111 shares in the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the third quarter worth about $101,872,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 265.2% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 507,322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $150,000,000 after purchasing an additional 368,421 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,317 shares in the company, valued at $17,774,001.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 45,769 shares of company stock worth $14,509,306. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.6 %

CAT stock traded up $5.78 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $363.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,809,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,428,498. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $204.04 and a 52 week high of $382.01. The stock has a market cap of $181.48 billion, a PE ratio of 17.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $347.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $298.90.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. The firm had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.41 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.56.

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.