Sage Investment Advisers LLC Lowers Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sage Investment Advisers LLC trimmed its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 94 shares during the period. Sage Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $357,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,693,812.06. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,693,812.06. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and upped their target price for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $323.35.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.1 %

CAT traded down $0.50 on Wednesday, reaching $344.50. 2,256,815 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,500,179. The company’s 50 day moving average is $352.57 and its 200-day moving average is $304.94. The company has a market cap of $168.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.53, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.19. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $205.60 and a twelve month high of $382.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.48%.

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.