Balentine LLC Has $249,000 Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Balentine LLC decreased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 79.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 686 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,673 shares during the quarter. Balentine LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $249,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CAT. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 334.8% during the fourth 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 increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% in the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 130.0% during the fourth 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 period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the business’s 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 owns 33,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. This trade represents a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.2 %

CAT stock opened at $363.11 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $307.05 and a one year high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $175.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $376.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $371.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted 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 return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 EPS for the current 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 given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 25.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson upped their price target on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.13.

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.