Peterson Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 215 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Peterson Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 21.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 792 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 215 shares during the period. Peterson Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Caterpillar during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% in the 3rd 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. 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 worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $397.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $192.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $287.52 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $379.99 and a 200-day moving average of $368.17.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI raised 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. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $380.60.

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.