Schechter Investment Advisors LLC Has $1.74 Million Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 132 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,987,206,000 after purchasing an additional 67,148 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,294,505,000 after buying an additional 129,143 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,418,793,000 after acquiring an additional 64,452 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,227,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,262,290,000 after acquiring an additional 8,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,531,208 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $555,461,000 after acquiring an additional 47,689 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $331.75 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $365.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $373.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a market cap of $158.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

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.