Avalon Trust Co Sells 304 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Avalon Trust Co lessened its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 38.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 304 shares during the quarter. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on CAT. HSBC lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $323.35.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock traded up $1.31 on Friday, reaching $336.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,977,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,750,444. The company has a market capitalization of $164.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $351.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $303.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $205.60 and a 1 year high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

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

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.