Sandhill Capital Partners LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sandhill Capital Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,577 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,678 shares during the period. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.56.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT traded down $25.28 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $338.24. The stock had a trading volume of 6,457,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,486,411. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $349.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $300.03. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $204.04 and a 52 week high of $382.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.06 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.86 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business 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 of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total value of $3,101,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,774,001.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,769 shares of company stock valued at $11,508,906. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.