Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA Lowers Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA lessened its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 95,214 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,659 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for approximately 2.0% of Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $28,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,408,481,000 after buying an additional 179,908 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,900,847,000 after buying an additional 111,384 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,830,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,864,823,000 after purchasing an additional 47,258 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 14.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,038,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,648,431,000 after purchasing an additional 781,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,264,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $947,875,000 after purchasing an additional 529,420 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on CAT. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $323.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at $1,693,812.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at $1,693,812.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the transaction, 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. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.2 %

Caterpillar stock traded up $4.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $355.96. The stock had a trading volume of 975,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,490,714. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.60 and a 52-week high of $382.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $353.23 and a 200 day moving average of $305.54. The firm has a market cap of $174.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 23.48%.

Caterpillar 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.