Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Has $12.50 Million Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 721 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $12,499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 6.0% during the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 72,873 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $19,894,000 after acquiring an additional 4,154 shares during the period. Telemus Capital LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 5.0% during the third quarter. Telemus Capital LLC now owns 1,762 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 126.9% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 5,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,551,000 after buying an additional 3,178 shares during the period. Everhart Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 14.3% in the third quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $467,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. Finally, Hixon Zuercher LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 20.8% in the third quarter. Hixon Zuercher LLC now owns 24,062 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,569,000 after purchasing an additional 4,139 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Truist Financial began coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. Citigroup upped their price target on Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,886,667.84. 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 mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $336.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,977,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,750,444. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $351.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $303.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $205.60 and a 12 month high of $382.01. The company has a market capitalization of $164.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

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.