Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,561 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for 2.2% of Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,556,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1,060.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $610.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $740.00 to $765.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $660.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $470.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $690.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 39,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $681.08, for a total value of $26,656,109.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 43,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,524,818. This trade represents a 47.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 10,671 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.45, for a total transaction of $7,261,081.95. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,151 shares in the company, valued at $28,001,197.95. This trade represents a 20.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 120,747 shares of company stock worth $78,324,008 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 3.4%

CAT opened at $701.04 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $723.16. The company has a market cap of $328.07 billion, a PE ratio of 37.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The company has a 50 day moving average of $614.16 and a 200 day moving average of $526.79.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 45.76%. The business had revenue of $19.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 32.09%.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.