Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stock Position Decreased by TrueWealth Advisors LLC

TrueWealth Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 52.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 788 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 869 shares during the period. TrueWealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 42.9% in the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 130.0% in the fourth 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 last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT traded up $5.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $386.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,596,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,595,788. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $380.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $367.29. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $277.66 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.90, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.52 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CAT. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $380.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 approximately $4,906,356.84. This trade represents a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.