Destination Wealth Management Decreases Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Destination Wealth Management cut its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 741 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 113 shares during the period. Destination Wealth Management’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $353,231,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 50,072.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,938,000 after purchasing an additional 803,166 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $99,874,000 after purchasing an additional 249,155 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 36,168.5% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $82,361,000 after purchasing an additional 226,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,501,554,000 after purchasing an additional 205,012 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.9 %

CAT opened at $350.97 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $363.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $372.57. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $167.74 billion, a PE ratio of 15.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. This trade 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 owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on CAT. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

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.