Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Allied Investment Advisors LLC

Allied Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,767 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 662 shares during the period. Caterpillar comprises approximately 3.1% of Allied Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Allied Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $15,151,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 130.0% in the 4th quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.13.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,714,323.35. The trade was a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of CAT opened at $355.42 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $371.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $372.29. 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 $171.60 billion, a PE ratio of 16.10, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. 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 (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

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.