N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC Sells 55 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC trimmed its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 55 shares during the quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Waterway Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $352,000. Farmers Trust Co. increased its position in Caterpillar by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 4,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,310,000 after buying an additional 3,558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 16.7% in the third quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 367,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $100,370,000 after buying an additional 52,576 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,943.82. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $5.40 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $342.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,653,389 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,509,182. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $205.60 and a 12-month high of $382.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a market cap of $167.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50 day moving average is $352.22 and its 200-day moving average is $304.27.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.79 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. Truist Financial started coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, HSBC upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.35.

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.