Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Trims Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,726 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 45 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CAT. United Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc increased its stake in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 7,668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,999,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Balentine LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 389.7% during the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 3,359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,314,000 after purchasing an additional 2,673 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 2,691 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Security Advisor Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $203,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $338.74 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. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $307.05 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $161.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $363.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $372.74.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

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.