Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Altrius Capital Management Inc

Altrius Capital Management Inc trimmed its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,461 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 379 shares during the quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.6 %

CAT opened at $340.68 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $366.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $372.66. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The firm has a market cap of $162.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

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 bought at an average cost of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar 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.