Stratos Investment Management LLC Has $1.22 Million Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Stratos Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,361 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 214 shares during the quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,219,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Czech National Bank lifted its position in Caterpillar by 6.0% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 98,778 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,634,000 after purchasing an additional 5,584 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 7,486 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,928,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,491 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,757,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its position in Caterpillar by 3.0% in the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,761 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $689,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 5.4% during the third quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,904 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,136,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.2 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $362.21 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $307.05 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a 50 day moving average of $380.00 and a 200-day moving average of $371.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.88 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,936 shares of company stock valued at $11,558,971 in the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $379.50.

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.