Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.6% during the third quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $919,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Channel Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $533,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $707,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $380.60.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $397.68 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $287.52 and a one year high of $418.50. The company’s fifty day moving average is $379.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $368.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.52 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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 $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

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.