Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. cut its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,806 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 186 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $9,724,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 77,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,433,000 after buying an additional 8,212 shares during the last quarter. LifePro Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth $774,000. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at about $570,000. Hudson Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.6% during the third quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC now owns 10,829 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,235,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares during the period. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its position in Caterpillar by 2.2% in the third quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $633,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their target price 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 cut their price objective on 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. lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.13.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $363.84 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $175.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $377.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $371.18. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $307.05 and a 52-week high of $418.50. 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 issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.