Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Position Cut by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth $54,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 47.2% during the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,906,356.84. The trade was a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $386.03 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $380.09 and its 200-day moving average is $366.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $186.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $277.66 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the topic of several research reports. 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. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $380.60.

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.