Wharton Business Group LLC Reduces Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Wharton Business Group LLC lowered its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,808 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,010 shares during the quarter. Wharton Business Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $19,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of CAT. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,686,000 after purchasing an additional 10,212 shares during the period. West Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $230,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 43.0% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after acquiring an additional 4,181 shares in the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $11,084,000. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,414,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 18,704 shares of company stock worth $7,226,584. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James upgraded Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson raised their target price on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $339.84 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market cap of $162.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $307.05 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $368.73 and a 200-day moving average of $372.72.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. As a group, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

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.