Principle Wealth Partners LLC Sells 554 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Principle Wealth Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 554 shares during the quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $7,871,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 41.5% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 1,070 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 12,602 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,572,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,629 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,771 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $643,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $198,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, 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 at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $363.11 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.31 billion, a PE ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company’s 50-day moving average is $376.59 and its 200-day moving average is $371.73. 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 data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.13.

Caterpillar Company 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.