Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Trims Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. decreased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 19.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,545 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $923,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,356,930,000 after purchasing an additional 2,131,276 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI raised its position in Caterpillar by 4,018.6% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,874,000 after purchasing an additional 249,155 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,501,554,000 after buying an additional 205,012 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 34.4% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $305,908,000 after purchasing an additional 200,210 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 106.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 317,828 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $124,309,000 after purchasing an additional 163,725 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $359.04 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $173.35 billion, a PE ratio of 16.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $379.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $371.31. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $307.05 and a 1-year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.45 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $379.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $398.57 per share, with a total value 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 trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.