Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Cuts Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. lowered its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 81,737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,657 shares during the period. Caterpillar accounts for about 2.8% of Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $29,651,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $919,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Channel Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $533,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This 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 analysts recently commented on CAT shares. Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. 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 report on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $343.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $365.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $372.95. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $307.05 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The firm has a market cap of $164.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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