Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Meridian Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Meridian Wealth Management reduced its Caterpillar stake by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,685 shares and leaving it with 36,278 shares valued at about $20.8 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive, with multiple analysts raising price targets; the stock now carries a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average target of $911.77.
• Caterpillar posted strong quarterly results, reporting EPS of $5.54 on revenue of $17.42 billion, both above expectations, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $1.51 per share.

Meridian Wealth Management LLC cut its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,278 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,685 shares during the period. Caterpillar makes up 0.7% of Meridian Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Meridian Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $20,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 681 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Security Financial Services INC. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Security Financial Services INC. now owns 3,609 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,068,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Purus Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,018 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 75 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, KWB Wealth increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. KWB Wealth now owns 549 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Williams Trading set a $825.00 price objective on Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Caterpillar from $900.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Caterpillar from $940.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Caterpillar from $905.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $911.77.

Caterpillar Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of CAT opened at $925.54 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $336.24 and a 52 week high of $931.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market capitalization of $426.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.07, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.63. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $761.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $670.30.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.21% and a net margin of 13.33%.The firm had revenue of $17.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.25 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.21 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.06%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 5,642 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $883.03, for a total transaction of $4,982,055.26. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,471,789.82. This represents a 37.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 9,152 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $926.25, for a total value of $8,477,040.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 46,041 shares in the company, valued at $42,645,476.25. This represents a 16.58% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 75,734 shares of company stock valued at $67,054,613 in the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company's product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.

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