DMC Group LLC Reduces Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

DMC Group LLC decreased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,136 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 240 shares during the quarter. DMC Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 42.9% in the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake in Caterpillar by 334.8% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 130.0% in the 4th quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $394.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $190.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.27, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $299.93 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $381.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $370.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. Analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $295.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three research 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, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $384.60.

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.