Welch & Forbes LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Welch & Forbes LLC decreased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 24,774 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 511 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $7,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC now owns 830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,037,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ACT Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. ACT Wealth Management LLC now owns 877 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. HSBC boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.35.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at $1,693,812.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,886,667.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $2.90 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $345.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,943,358 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,503,008. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $352.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $304.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market cap of $168.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.19. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $205.60 and a 1-year high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. Research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.79 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 paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.48%.

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.