Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL Trims Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL trimmed its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 47,105 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,760 shares during the period. Caterpillar comprises approximately 6.7% of Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $18,424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.6% during the third quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust lifted its position in Caterpillar by 4.0% during the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.2% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $919,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT traded up $0.96 during trading on Friday, reaching $381.74. 350,040 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,545,945. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $184.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $270.55 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $392.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $360.00.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.52 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $374.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. The trade was a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,356.84. This represents a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489. Company 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.