Colonial Trust Advisors Sells 1,777 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Colonial Trust Advisors decreased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,074 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,777 shares during the quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors’ holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,194,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 10.0 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $301.43 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $336.81 and a 200 day moving average of $368.44. The company has a market cap of $144.06 billion, a PE ratio of 13.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. 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 $267.30 and a 12-month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on CAT. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $373.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.