Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA Has $26.26 Million Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA lowered its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 72,395 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,497 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar comprises 1.8% of Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $26,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake 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 valued at $231,686,000 after acquiring an additional 10,212 shares during the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $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 during the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,084,000. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,414,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $343.90 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $164.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $307.05 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $365.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $372.71.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % 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 insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price target 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. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

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.