Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Toth Financial Advisory Corp

Toth Financial Advisory Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,755 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 63 shares during the period. Toth Financial Advisory Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,000,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the third quarter worth $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 42.9% in 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. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 130.0% during the 4th quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $407.95 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $196.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $293.13 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $380.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $368.65.

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 company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $380.60.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This represents 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar 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.