Guardian Investment Management Sells 700 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Guardian Investment Management trimmed its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 11.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,287 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. Caterpillar comprises about 1.3% of Guardian Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Guardian Investment Management’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,563,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 130,632.5% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,784,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,343,859,000 after buying an additional 9,776,533 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,900,847,000 after buying an additional 111,384 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,830,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,864,823,000 after buying an additional 47,258 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 14.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,038,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,648,431,000 after buying an additional 781,111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.7% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,440,783 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $892,724,000 after buying an additional 92,360 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT traded down $0.56 on Thursday, reaching $357.76. The stock had a trading volume of 1,209,445 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,418,054. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $204.04 and a 12-month high of $382.01. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $345.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $296.78. The stock has a market cap of $178.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.17.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The company had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on CAT. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.56.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total transaction of $3,000,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 67,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,197,792.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,769 shares of company stock worth $14,509,306 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.