Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Mayfair Advisory Group LLC

Mayfair Advisory Group LLC cut its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 843 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 30 shares during the period. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $306,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 47.2% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $370.79 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $276.94 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $179.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $381.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $366.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its 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). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $454.00 to $471.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $381.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. The trade was a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.