Regatta Capital Group LLC Decreases Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Regatta Capital Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,218 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 41 shares during the quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $442,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 178,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $59,612,000 after acquiring an additional 4,465 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at $30,636,000. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.8% in the second quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 25,834 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,605,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 35.4% during the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Finally, Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 19.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. Citigroup reduced their price target on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America increased their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $380.60.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $407.95 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $381.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $369.19. The company has a market cap of $196.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $293.13 and a one year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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

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.