Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stock Holdings Lowered by Verus Capital Partners LLC

Verus Capital Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 54 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldstone Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at $619,000. Great Diamond Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at about $207,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 15.8% in the third quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 2,860 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,107,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. Oak Harvest Investment Services increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4.7% in the third quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 4,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,658,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 6.3% during the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,623 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on CAT. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock opened at $340.68 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $162.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $366.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $372.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.56%.

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.