Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Capital Investment Counsel Inc

Capital Investment Counsel Inc cut its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 550 shares during the period. Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,802,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 67,148 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the third 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 during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.8% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 64,452 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,227,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,262,290,000 after acquiring an additional 8,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,356,930,000 after buying an additional 2,131,276 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.2 %

CAT stock opened at $348.84 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $307.05 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $166.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.81, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $370.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $372.40.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,704 shares of company stock valued at $7,226,584 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.