Western Wealth Management LLC Sells 4,361 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Western Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 62.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,653 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,361 shares during the quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $434,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Helium Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $209,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 3,708 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GTS Securities LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 112.0% during the fourth quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 1,764 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $640,000 after purchasing an additional 16,472 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock traded down $1.56 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $343.63. 1,936,537 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,638,107. 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 $161.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.57, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $318.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $352.14. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st were paid 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 yield of 1.64%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CAT. Morgan Stanley upgraded Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Baird R W upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $375.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.