Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Sells 894 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,769 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 894 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $9,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in Caterpillar by 7.3% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 17,262 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA increased its position in Caterpillar by 155.9% in the third quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 47,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,014,000 after purchasing an additional 28,773 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the third quarter worth $8,893,000. ZEGA Investments LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 149.6% during the third quarter. ZEGA Investments LLC now owns 4,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,996,000 after acquiring an additional 2,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its position in Caterpillar by 2.5% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 165,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $79,053,000 after acquiring an additional 4,010 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 972 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $764.20, for a total value of $742,802.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $629,700.80. This represents a 54.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Joseph E. Creed sold 2,500 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $718.93, for a total value of $1,797,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 35,083 shares in the company, valued at $25,222,221.19. This represents a 6.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 125,950 shares of company stock valued at $88,577,390 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $678.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, January 30th. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $660.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $670.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $640.00 to $790.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $737.55.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of CAT opened at $720.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $335.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.52. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $789.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $717.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $616.99.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 45.76%. The business’s revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.