Applied Capital LLC FL Has $4.49 Million Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Applied Capital LLC FL lessened its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 12,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Caterpillar makes up approximately 3.5% of Applied Capital LLC FL’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Applied Capital LLC FL’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,486,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 130.0% in the fourth quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America upped their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $380.60.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total transaction of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,079,968. This trade represents a 20.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389 in the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $407.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.96 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $381.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $369.19. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $293.13 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

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.