Central Bank & Trust Co. Lowers Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Central Bank & Trust Co. lessened its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,549 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,663 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar makes up 1.3% of Central Bank & Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 42.9% in 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 during the period. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 130.0% during 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $380.60.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $386.03 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $380.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $367.29. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $277.66 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The firm has a market cap of $186.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total transaction of $543,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at $2,079,968. The trade was a 20.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.