Aspiriant LLC Reduces Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Aspiriant LLC decreased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 52 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $895,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 65 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $380.60.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock opened at $386.03 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a market capitalization of $186.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $277.66 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $380.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $367.29.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.52 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,906,356.84. The trade was a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total transaction of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at $2,079,968. This trade represents a 20.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389 in the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.