Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 301,573 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 16,255 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $109,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $54,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 47.2% during the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. This represents a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. The trade was a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $370.79 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $179.02 billion, a PE ratio of 17.19, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $381.63 and a 200 day moving average of $366.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $276.94 and a 12 month high of $418.50.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $381.67.

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.