Ellis Investment Partners LLC Trims Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Ellis Investment Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 125 shares during the period. Ellis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 2.6% during the third quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust raised its stake in Caterpillar by 4.0% during the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its stake in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Souders Financial Advisors raised its stake in Caterpillar by 0.8% during the second quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 3,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,218,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop National Bank increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% in the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 2,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $878,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $355.50.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total value of $1,018,878.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.3 %

CAT stock traded down $1.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $385.97. 1,606,883 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,622,578. The company has a market capitalization of $188.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.76 and a twelve month high of $403.60. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $368.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $350.95.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $5.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $16.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.91 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.55 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

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.