Secure Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Secure Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 22.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 298 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $377,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,987,206,000 after purchasing an additional 67,148 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,501,554,000 after buying an additional 205,012 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,862,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,286,582,000 after acquiring an additional 75,973 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 1.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,418,793,000 after acquiring an additional 64,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,227,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,262,290,000 after acquiring an additional 8,088 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $407.95 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $380.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $368.65. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $293.13 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $380.60.

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.