Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV Sells 145 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV decreased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 145 shares during the quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $731,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $353,231,000. First Business Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 2,099.0% in the fourth quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 14,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,321,000 after acquiring an additional 14,000 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 10,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,755,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,846,000 after purchasing an additional 2,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC now owns 2,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $842,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James upgraded Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value 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 approximately $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $338.74 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $363.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $372.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $161.89 billion, a PE ratio of 15.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 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 expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.