Courier Capital LLC Lowers Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Courier Capital LLC cut its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 15.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,334 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 768 shares during the quarter. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $54,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its position in Caterpillar by 47.2% during the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,356.84. The trade was a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $362.82 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $381.88 and a 200 day moving average of $365.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market cap of $175.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $276.94 and a 12 month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.55%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on CAT. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday. Bank of America increased their price target on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $384.33.

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.