Old Port Advisors Has $2.86 Million Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Old Port Advisors lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,874 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 48 shares during the period. Old Port Advisors’ holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,856,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 5.6% in the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,591,000 after acquiring an additional 6,212 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after purchasing an additional 4,181 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network bought a new position in Caterpillar during the third quarter worth about $204,000. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 25.8% in the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,233,000 after buying an additional 1,694 shares during the period. Finally, Jackson Square Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 33.7% in the third quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC now owns 16,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,485,000 after buying an additional 4,182 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $362.29. The company had a trading volume of 426,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,527,875. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $276.94 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $385.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $363.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $174.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.52 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current 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 $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI cut Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $384.33.

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.