Coastwise Capital Group LLC Trims Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Coastwise Capital Group LLC reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,649 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Coastwise Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $598,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $114,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.9% during the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 12,941 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,311,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 83.5% in the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 4,535 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,511,000 after acquiring an additional 2,063 shares during the period. Jacobs & Co. CA boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 40,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,735,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Doliver Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 1,518 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $375.98 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $181.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $381.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $370.78. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $299.93 and a 52 week high of $418.50. 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 (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. Equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.71 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,900 shares of company stock worth $13,111,601 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on CAT. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $295.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $382.47.

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.