Perkins Coie Trust Co Decreases Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Perkins Coie Trust Co trimmed its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,153 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 208 shares during the quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 last quarter. First Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% during the 3rd 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 grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $919,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Channel Wealth LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $386.03 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $277.66 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $380.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $367.03. The firm has a market cap of $186.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. This trade represents a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup cut their price target on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $380.60.

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.