Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 255 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson raised their target price on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $279.24 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $344.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $370.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.46 billion, a PE ratio of 12.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.