Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 25,547 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,740 shares during the quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $12,190,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,688,000 after buying an additional 2,519 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 8.5% during the second quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $938,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its stake in Caterpillar by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 3,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,336,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total value of $6,034,465.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,874,576.40. This represents a 55.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 39,138 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $681.08, for a total transaction of $26,656,109.04. Following the sale, the insider owned 43,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,524,818. This trade represents a 47.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 120,747 shares of company stock worth $78,324,008 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock traded up $28.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $706.37. The stock had a trading volume of 302,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,737,583. The stock has a market capitalization of $330.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.35, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $723.16. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $614.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $526.79.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.76% and a net margin of 13.14%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.14 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CAT. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $710.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $476.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $690.90.

Caterpillar Profile

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.