Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Sells 6,074 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lowered its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 55,124 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,074 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $19,997,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its stake in 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 valued at $99,874,000 after buying an additional 249,155 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $82,361,000 after buying an additional 226,415 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $3,501,554,000 after buying an additional 205,012 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in Caterpillar by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $305,908,000 after buying an additional 200,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,997,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,704 shares of company stock valued at $7,226,584. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $342.55 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $366.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $372.88. The company has a market cap of $163.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $307.05 and a one year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

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.