Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC Sells 97 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 15,003 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 97 shares during the period. Caterpillar comprises about 2.7% of Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,987,206,000 after buying an additional 67,148 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,501,554,000 after acquiring an additional 205,012 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,418,793,000 after purchasing an additional 64,452 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,227,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,262,290,000 after purchasing an additional 8,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,349,608 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $527,859,000 after purchasing an additional 30,609 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Down 2.7 %

CAT opened at $339.84 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $369.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $372.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $307.05 and a fifty-two 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.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday. 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. 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. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,704 shares of company stock valued at $7,226,584. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.