Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC Sells 97 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,003 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 97 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar makes up about 2.7% of Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% in the third 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 boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 3rd 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 during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 1.8% in the 3rd 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 worth $1,418,793,000 after buying an additional 64,452 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the third 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 period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,349,608 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $527,859,000 after acquiring an additional 30,609 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,704 shares of company stock worth $7,226,584 in the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Trading Down 2.7 %

CAT stock opened at $339.84 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $307.05 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $369.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $372.24.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

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.