Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Holdings Trimmed by Clear Creek Financial Management LLC

Clear Creek Financial Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,139 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $371.88 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $380.88 and a 200-day moving average of $371.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market cap of $179.54 billion, a PE ratio of 17.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $299.93 and a 52-week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.71 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 given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of Caterpillar 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 sale, the director now directly owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at $2,079,968. This trade represents a 20.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,236 shares of company stock worth $12,102,371. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $295.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $380.13.

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.