Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,535 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 382 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for approximately 1.6% of Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,637,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Waterway Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $352,000. Farmers Trust Co. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 4,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,328,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 16.7% in the third quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 367,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $100,370,000 after buying an additional 52,576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total value of $3,000,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,197,792.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $19,886,667.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total transaction of $3,000,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 67,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,197,792.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Evercore ISI cut Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.56.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of CAT traded down $0.63 on Wednesday, reaching $362.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 753,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,406,445. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.12, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.17. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $204.04 and a twelve month high of $382.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $348.44 and a 200-day moving average of $299.59.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.06 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.86 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.32 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.82%.

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.