Diversify Advisory Services LLC Sells 437 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Diversify Advisory Services LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 14.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,543 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 437 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $893,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CAT. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,356,930,000 after purchasing an additional 2,131,276 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3,319.7% in the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,606,000 after buying an additional 266,969 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $99,874,000 after acquiring an additional 249,155 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,501,554,000 after acquiring an additional 205,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in Caterpillar by 34.4% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $305,908,000 after purchasing an additional 200,210 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of CAT stock opened at $386.03 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $186.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $380.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $367.29. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $277.66 and a 1 year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CAT. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $380.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.