Claro Advisors LLC Sells 412 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Claro Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 23.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 412 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $487,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank raised its position in Caterpillar by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $919,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $707,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Three investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $381.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at $13,714,323.35. The trade was a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $370.79 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $179.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s fifty day moving average is $381.63 and its 200 day moving average is $366.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.52 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

About Caterpillar

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.