Sigma Planning Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sigma Planning Corp lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 56.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,647 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 17,509 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,035,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC now owns 830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $774,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. ACT Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. ACT Wealth Management LLC now owns 877 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 1,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.56.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded down $1.96 during trading on Friday, hitting $354.66. 2,929,591 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,086,614. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $346.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $297.99. The company has a market cap of $177.12 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 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 1.25. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $204.04 and a 12-month high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The business had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.86 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.41 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.82%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan purchased 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,741,725.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.