Quilter Plc Has $14.63 Million Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Quilter Plc trimmed its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,329 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,363 shares during the period. Quilter Plc’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $14,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,771 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $643,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $198,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $79,000. GGM Financials LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $210,000. Finally, Wagner Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CAT. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.13.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.4 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $363.84 on Monday. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $307.05 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $376.59 and its 200 day moving average is $371.48. The company has a market capitalization of $175.66 billion, a PE ratio of 16.49, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s 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 owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.