Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Romano Brothers AND Company

Romano Brothers AND Company lowered its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,224 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 722 shares during the quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.6% during the third quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $919,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Channel Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its stake in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $707,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on CAT. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup cut their target price on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $380.60.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $386.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.90, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $277.66 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $380.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $367.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders 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 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. The trade was a 3.51 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total value of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at $2,079,968. This represents a 20.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar 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.