Jacobs & Co. CA Sells 1,723 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Jacobs & Co. CA trimmed its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,508 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,723 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar comprises about 1.4% of Jacobs & Co. CA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Jacobs & Co. CA’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $13,969,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,987,206,000 after acquiring an additional 67,148 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,501,554,000 after buying an additional 205,012 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,862,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,286,582,000 after buying an additional 75,973 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 1.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,418,793,000 after acquiring an additional 64,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,227,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,262,290,000 after acquiring an additional 8,088 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock traded down $8.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $352.18. 1,692,356 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,645,083. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $382.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $365.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $276.94 and a one year high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.52 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,906,356.84. This represents a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI cut shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $384.33.

About Caterpillar

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.