Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC Sells 90 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC decreased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 19.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 375 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 90 shares during the quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its stake in Caterpillar by 47.2% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Caterpillar from $454.00 to $471.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $384.33.

Caterpillar Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of CAT stock traded down $10.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $350.54. The stock had a trading volume of 2,066,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,681,740. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $276.94 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $382.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $365.00.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.52 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,906,356.84. This trade represents a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.