Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Trims Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC trimmed its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 156,695 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,000 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $56,843,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $2,733,000. One Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 173.0% in the 2nd quarter. One Capital Management LLC now owns 1,665 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $555,000 after buying an additional 1,055 shares during the period. Financial & Tax Architects LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Financial & Tax Architects LLC now owns 18,074 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,020,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 301.4% in the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,091 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 2,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 33.7% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 133,013 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $43,194,000 after acquiring an additional 33,505 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $380.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. The trade was a 3.51 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of CAT stock traded up $5.96 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $380.85. 1,972,965 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,003,177. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $276.94 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The stock's 50 day moving average is $380.24 and its 200-day moving average is $366.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a market cap of $183.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors 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 yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Caterpillar 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.