Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL Sells 2,870 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL lessened its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 44,235 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,870 shares during the period. Caterpillar makes up about 6.0% of Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $16,047,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird raised Caterpillar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $309.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $375.33.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock traded up $2.24 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $351.73. The stock had a trading volume of 2,290,266 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,632,152. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.94, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The stock's fifty day moving average is $318.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $351.77.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The company had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.60 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.49%.

About Caterpillar

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.