Triangle Securities Wealth Management Lowers Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Triangle Securities Wealth Management reduced its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 309 shares during the quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,419,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% in the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 130.0% during the 4th quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $386.03 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a 50-day moving average of $380.09 and a 200-day moving average of $367.03. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $277.66 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The firm has a market cap of $186.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.52 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on CAT. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of 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 note on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $380.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.