Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. Decreases Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 39.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 585 shares during the period. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Carrera Capital Advisors lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 1,238 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $449,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Jag Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 834 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $364,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 73.4% in the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 282,244 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $102,387,000 after acquiring an additional 119,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $109,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the 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 directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $326.45 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $156.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.79, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $364.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $372.98. 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 posted its 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 return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their target price 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. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

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.