Vaughan David Investments LLC IL Has $28.65 Million Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Vaughan David Investments LLC IL cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,977 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,742 shares during the quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $28,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 130.0% in the 4th quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,704 shares of company stock worth $7,226,584. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $338.65 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $368.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $373.05. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on CAT shares. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America dropped their price target on 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 dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

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.