Blue Chip Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Blue Chip Partners LLC lowered its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 88.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,678 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 37,306 shares during the quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 24,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,151,000 after buying an additional 1,419 shares during the period. Little House Capital LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 7,068 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,090,000 after buying an additional 851 shares during the period. RiverFront Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 60,418 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,863,000 after buying an additional 3,114 shares during the period. Sargent Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,394 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,186,000 after buying an additional 923 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebrook Private Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $554,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related 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 transaction, the insider now owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 35,769 shares of company stock valued at $11,508,906. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on CAT. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $316.88.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $345.00 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $205.60 and a 1-year 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $350.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $301.19. The firm has a market cap of $172.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.17.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.44 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.