IFG Advisory LLC Trims Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• IFG Advisory LLC reduced its Caterpillar stake by 21.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,154 shares and ending with 4,323 shares valued at about $2.48 million.
• Caterpillar reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $5.54 and revenue of $17.42 billion, both beating analyst expectations; revenue also rose 22.2% year over year.
• Analysts remain upbeat on CAT, with 16 Buy ratings and an average price target of $923.14, while insiders have also been selling shares in recent months.

IFG Advisory LLC lessened its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 21.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,323 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,154 shares during the quarter. IFG Advisory LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,385,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,572,681,000 after purchasing an additional 442,164 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,610,182 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,072,572,000 after purchasing an additional 94,524 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,493,266 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,438,408,000 after purchasing an additional 54,069 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Caterpillar by 3,949.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,228,058 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,494,568,000 after purchasing an additional 5,098,964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Caterpillar by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,802,068 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,337,007,000 after purchasing an additional 58,993 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $887.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $408.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.63. The company's fifty day moving average is $807.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $701.11. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $339.50 and a 1 year high of $931.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.65 by $0.89. The company had revenue of $17.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.53 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. Caterpillar's revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th were paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 20th. Caterpillar's payout ratio is currently 30.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $907.91, for a total value of $11,444,205.55. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 49,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,236,615.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 16,283 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $916.80, for a total transaction of $14,928,254.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,210,388.80. This trade represents a 26.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 98,273 shares of company stock worth $89,439,960 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on CAT shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Williams Trading set a $825.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $900.00 to $1,045.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $670.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, CICC Research began coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Friday, February 6th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $923.14.

Caterpillar Company Profile

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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