Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Holdings Trimmed by Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC

Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,354 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 39 shares during the period. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 28,603.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,494,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,417,360,000 after acquiring an additional 1,488,813 shares in the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2,265.3% in the 3rd quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,117,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $305,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070,570 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,038,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,648,431,000 after purchasing an additional 781,111 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 5,293.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 482,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $142,620,000 after purchasing an additional 473,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at $101,872,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,774,001.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $19,886,667.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total value of $3,101,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,774,001.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,769 shares of company stock worth $11,508,906. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $316.88.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $7.15 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $350.53. The company had a trading volume of 965,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,477,421. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $350.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $301.19. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $205.60 and a 1-year high of $382.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a market capitalization of $175.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.17.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.