United Asset Strategies Inc. Sells 121 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

United Asset Strategies Inc. trimmed its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 121 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $767,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 19.3% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at approximately $742,000. Silver Lake Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $322,000. Granite FO LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $228,000. Finally, Covington Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $4,775,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 3.2 %

CAT opened at $394.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $297.45 and a one year high of $418.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $381.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $369.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced 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 business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.52 EPS. Analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three equities research 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 has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $380.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.