Howe & Rusling Inc. Sells 282 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Howe & Rusling Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 282 shares during the period. Caterpillar comprises approximately 1.6% of Howe & Rusling Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $14,962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Waterway Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $352,000. Farmers Trust Co. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 4,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,328,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $540,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 16.7% in the third quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 367,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $100,370,000 after acquiring an additional 52,576 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. HSBC raised their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $323.35.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,693,812.06. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,769 shares of company stock valued at $11,508,906. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT traded down $2.19 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $332.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,292,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,508,476. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $351.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $302.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $205.60 and a 1 year high of $382.01. The company has a market capitalization of $165.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.10, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.17.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

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.