Wesbanco Bank Inc. Sells 1,757 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Wesbanco Bank Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,757 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $10,077,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $248,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.4% in the third quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 66,260 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares during the last quarter. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter worth $259,000. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 14,799 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,061,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlTi Global Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 9,711 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,634,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 22,656 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $720.11, for a total value of $16,314,812.16. Following the transaction, the insider owned 79,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,574,954.83. This trade represents a 22.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,033 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.15, for a total transaction of $4,356,730.95. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,717,194.65. This trade represents a 12.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 130,545 shares of company stock valued at $88,294,733 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $742.51 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $347.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $620.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $532.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.44. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $743.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 45.76%. The business had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.14 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 32.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on CAT. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Caterpillar from $702.00 to $756.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $660.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $740.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $690.90.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.