Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Trims Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. decreased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 74,627 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,697 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $27,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% during the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $919,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Channel Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $533,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,236 shares of company stock worth $12,102,371 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $295.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $380.13.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $371.88 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a market cap of $179.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $380.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $371.07. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $299.93 and a 52-week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Caterpillar Company 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.