Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc.

Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 18.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,450 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 322 shares during the period. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $429,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 350 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at $1,693,812.06. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.4 %

Caterpillar stock traded up $1.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $336.75. The company had a trading volume of 1,977,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,750,444. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.60 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $351.89 and its 200-day moving average is $303.11.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 23.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on CAT shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI downgraded Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.35.

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.