Atwood & Palmer Inc. Sells 775 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Atwood & Palmer Inc. lessened its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 23.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,565 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 775 shares during the quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $523,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 7.7% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 45,106 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $15,025,000 after purchasing an additional 3,211 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 118,189 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,372,000 after purchasing an additional 3,852 shares during the period. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 3,319.7% during the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $91,606,000 after buying an additional 266,969 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $12.65 on Tuesday, reaching $398.67. 3,142,358 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,148,470. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.13. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $379.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $367.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $286.10 and a 52 week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS 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 company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.52 earnings per share. Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an "underperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $365.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $380.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

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.