Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Heritage Wealth Partners LLC

Heritage Wealth Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 56.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 720 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 923 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 2.6% in the third quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.2% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $919,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $707,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,356,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. Bank of America upped their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $454.00 to $471.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $384.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of CAT stock traded up $11.82 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $362.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,617,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,818,170. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $382.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $365.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.17 billion, a PE ratio of 16.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $276.94 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

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.