Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC Reduces Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC trimmed its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,882 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 182 shares during the quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 28,603.5% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 1,488,813 shares during the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $305,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070,570 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,038,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,648,431,000 after buying an additional 781,111 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 5,293.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 482,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $142,620,000 after acquiring an additional 473,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter worth about $101,872,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,774,001.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $19,886,667.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,769 shares of company stock valued at $11,508,906 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Citigroup raised their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI downgraded Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $310.83.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $343.38 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $350.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $300.99. The stock has a market cap of $171.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $204.04 and a 52 week high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. Analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.44 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

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.