Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by West Oak Capital LLC

West Oak Capital LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 65 shares during the quarter. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 39,534.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,356,930,000 after buying an additional 2,131,276 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 3,319.7% during the second quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,606,000 after purchasing an additional 266,969 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,874,000 after purchasing an additional 249,155 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the third 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. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 34.4% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $305,908,000 after purchasing an additional 200,210 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. This represents a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $384.33.

Caterpillar Trading Up 3.4 %

CAT opened at $362.82 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $381.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $365.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.17 billion, a PE ratio of 16.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $276.94 and a one year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business 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. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

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.