Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. Lowers Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. trimmed its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 11,290 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 164 shares during the period. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,096,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% during the third 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. Albion Financial Group UT increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC increased 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 valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of CAT stock opened at $353.31 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $372.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $372.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $170.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.56%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. This trade represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.