Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Sells 6,628 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lowered its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 259,907 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,628 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned 0.05% of Caterpillar worth $94,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Bank & Trust increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were 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 directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % 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, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.13.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $353.97 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $374.12 and its 200 day moving average is $371.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $170.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $307.05 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

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.