Quent Capital LLC Decreases Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Quent Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 69 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $535,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,686,000 after buying an additional 10,212 shares during the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $230,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 43.0% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after acquiring an additional 4,181 shares in the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $11,084,000. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,414,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $362.61 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $375.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $371.86. The company has a market cap of $175.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $307.05 and a 12-month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CAT. StockNews.com raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.13.

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.