MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC Sells 854 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,528 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 854 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar comprises about 1.5% of MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $10,349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 247.7% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 57,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,804,000 after buying an additional 40,857 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 89.2% in the 4th quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 10,062 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,650,000 after acquiring an additional 4,744 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,867 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $2,404,000. Finally, Obsidian Personal Planning Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Obsidian Personal Planning Solutions LLC now owns 1,620 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $602,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $396.00 price objective (up from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $309.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Baird R W upgraded Caterpillar from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.83.

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $352.58 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $166.08 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $317.07 and a 200-day moving average of $354.64.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.