Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC Sells 7,561 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC lessened its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 44.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,561 shares during the period. Caterpillar comprises 2.2% of Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,556,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 1,060.0% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $610.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $700.00 to $729.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $677.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $690.90.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total value of $6,034,465.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,874,576.40. This trade represents a 55.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $575.06, for a total transaction of $5,750,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 45,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,142,227.60. The trade was a 18.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 120,747 shares of company stock valued at $78,324,008. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 3.4%

NYSE CAT opened at $701.04 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $328.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.58. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $614.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $526.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $723.16.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 45.76%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.14 EPS. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.09%.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off?highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.