FLC Capital Advisors Reduces Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

FLC Capital Advisors cut its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 14.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,030 shares during the quarter. FLC Capital Advisors’ holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,273,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 42.9% during the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 65 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,356.84. This represents a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389 in the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $386.03 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $380.09 and a 200 day moving average of $367.29. The stock has a market cap of $186.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.90, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $277.66 and a 52-week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $380.60.

About Caterpillar

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.