Willis Investment Counsel Decreases Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Willis Investment Counsel cut its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 77,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,877 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar makes up about 2.0% of Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $37,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 1,060.0% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $575.06, for a total transaction of $5,750,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 45,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,142,227.60. This represents a 18.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 10,671 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.45, for a total value of $7,261,081.95. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,001,197.95. This trade represents a 20.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 120,747 shares of company stock valued at $78,324,008. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $587.00 to $658.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $569.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their price target on Caterpillar from $470.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $690.90.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $702.22 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $723.16. The company has a market cap of $328.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.09, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $614.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $526.79.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $19.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.81 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.76% and a net margin of 13.14%.Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.14 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.09%.

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.