Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC cut its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,047 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 37 shares during the period. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $343.90 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $365.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $372.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $307.05 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $164.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Company 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.