YHB Investment Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

YHB Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,666 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% in the third quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $919,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Channel Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $295.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $384.60.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total value of $543,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,079,968. The trade was a 20.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $390.29 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $297.45 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $381.27 and its 200 day moving average is $370.23. The company has a market cap of $188.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Caterpillar Company 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.