Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Perigon Wealth Management LLC

Perigon Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,119 shares during the quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $7,817,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MBE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 36.3% in the fourth quarter. MBE Wealth Management LLC now owns 717 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 80.8% in the 4th quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $509,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 665 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. W Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 2,127 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $772,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Griffin Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,098 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,202,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock traded down $4.70 on Tuesday, reaching $390.29. 1,787,209 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,179,738. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $297.45 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $381.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $370.23. The company has a market cap of $188.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. Caterpillar's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on CAT. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $384.60.

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.