Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,416 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,980,629,000 after purchasing an additional 284,366 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,790,841,000 after buying an additional 236,315 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,294,505,000 after acquiring an additional 129,143 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,483,937,000 after acquiring an additional 724,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $2,184,364,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $396.00 target price (up previously from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $370.67.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $323.04 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $317.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $356.78. The company has a market cap of $154.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.60 EPS. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.