Boston Trust Walden Corp Cuts Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Boston Trust Walden Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,204 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 30 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Caterpillar by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,686,000 after acquiring an additional 10,212 shares in the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,591,000 after buying an additional 6,212 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 43.0% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,437,000 after buying an additional 4,181 shares during the period. Finally, Cadinha & Co. LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $11,084,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,936 shares of company stock valued at $11,558,971 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $362.21 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $174.88 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $380.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $371.21. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $307.05 and a one year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors 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 yield of 1.56%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $379.50.

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.