LaFleur & Godfrey LLC Trims Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

LaFleur & Godfrey LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 50,785 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 448 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar comprises 2.5% of LaFleur & Godfrey LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $18,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Cove Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $511,000. Zhang Financial LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 9,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,322,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in Caterpillar by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 56,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,632,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Corundum Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 70.6% in the fourth quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 5,592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,029,000 after acquiring an additional 2,314 shares during the period. Finally, Purus Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. The trade was a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $386.03 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $380.09 and a 200 day moving average of $367.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a market capitalization 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $277.66 and a 52 week 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 the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $380.60.

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.