Westchester Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,740 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Westchester Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 61,806 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,740 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar makes up about 6.3% of Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $29,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. MJP Associates Inc. ADV raised its position in Caterpillar by 14.2% during the third quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 1,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $529,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 7.2% in the third quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 6,890 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,287,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. now owns 504 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the third quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 77,083 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186 shares during the period. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.6% in the third quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,163 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,235,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $569.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Argus upped their price target on Caterpillar from $625.00 to $820.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $677.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Caterpillar from $710.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $702.95.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 22,656 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $720.11, for a total transaction of $16,314,812.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 79,953 shares in the company, valued at $57,574,954.83. This trade represents a 22.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $575.06, for a total value of $5,750,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 45,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,142,227.60. This represents a 18.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 138,436 shares of company stock worth $94,425,251. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $764.27 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $357.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $641.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $546.70. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $789.81.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 45.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.09%.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.