Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Iowa State Bank

Iowa State Bank lowered its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 109 shares during the quarter. Iowa State Bank’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 12,030 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,364,000 after buying an additional 1,115 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,686,000 after acquiring an additional 10,212 shares during the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 12,136 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,402,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,107,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. This represents a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. The trade was a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 1st. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $384.33.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $0.65 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $364.44. The company had a trading volume of 737,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,299,030. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $276.94 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $175.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.90, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $384.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $364.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

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.