Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 113,495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 11,131 shares during the quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $41,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ibex Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 894.1% in the 4th quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors now owns 9,961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,613,000 after acquiring an additional 8,959 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 7,881 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,859,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden grew its position in Caterpillar by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 143,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,020,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $384.60.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock traded up $7.32 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $397.61. 326,972 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,066,064. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $299.93 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The company has a market cap of $191.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50 day moving average is $381.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $370.23.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly 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). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

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.