SlateStone Wealth LLC Decreases Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

SlateStone Wealth LLC lessened its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 13.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,486 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,393 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for approximately 1.6% of SlateStone Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $18,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Modus Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 12,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,950,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Prasad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the third quarter worth $232,000. MONECO Advisors LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 1.4% during the third quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 6,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,955,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at about $204,000. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 41.6% in the third quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 1,909 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $911,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 10,671 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.45, for a total transaction of $7,261,081.95. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,001,197.95. The trade was a 20.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 39,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $681.08, for a total value of $26,656,109.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 43,350 shares in the company, valued at $29,524,818. This trade represents a 47.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 120,747 shares of company stock worth $78,324,008 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on CAT shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $729.00 to $786.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $700.00 to $729.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $710.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Caterpillar from $708.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $690.90.

Caterpillar Trading Up 3.6%

NYSE:CAT opened at $702.83 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $723.16. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $614.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $526.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The company has a market cap of $328.91 billion, a PE ratio of 37.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.58.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 45.76%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.14 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 32.09%.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.