Vest Financial LLC Sells 50,534 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Vest Financial LLC lessened its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 26.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 140,312 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 50,534 shares during the period. Caterpillar comprises about 0.9% of Vest Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $66,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1,060.0% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. RiverPark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new position in Caterpillar during the third quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $485.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Argus increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $708.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $625.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total transaction of $6,034,465.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,649 shares in the company, valued at $4,874,576.40. This represents a 55.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 1,200 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.22, for a total value of $686,664.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $757,047.06. The trade was a 47.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 54,729 shares of company stock valued at $31,084,308. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Down 2.8%

CAT opened at $628.61 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $655.68. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $589.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $506.98. The company has a market cap of $294.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.17 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 31.01%.

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.