Baxter Bros Inc. Sells 120 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Baxter Bros Inc. trimmed its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 12.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 870 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 120 shares during the quarter. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $323.35.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $1.31 on Friday, hitting $336.75. 1,977,087 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,750,444. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.19. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $205.60 and a 12 month high of $382.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $351.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $303.11.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. Analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.48%.

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.