Financial Advocates Investment Management Sells 50 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Financial Advocates Investment Management cut its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 14,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,987,206,000 after buying an additional 67,148 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,501,554,000 after acquiring an additional 205,012 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,418,793,000 after purchasing an additional 64,452 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,227,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,262,290,000 after buying an additional 8,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,356,930,000 after buying an additional 2,131,276 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $359.04 on Thursday. 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 has a 50-day simple moving average of $379.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $371.31. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $307.05 and a one year high of $418.50. The firm has a market cap of $173.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on CAT. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America reduced 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. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $379.50.

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.