Argyle Capital Management Inc. Reduces Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Argyle Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 14.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,767 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,573 shares during the period. Caterpillar accounts for approximately 1.8% of Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,366,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 1,856 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at $208,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 0.8% in the third quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,874 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,788,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 3.6% in the third quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 4,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, HCR Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Caterpillar by 20.2% in the third quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 3,586 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $979,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI cut Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $310.83.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT traded up $5.38 during trading on Friday, reaching $343.38. The stock had a trading volume of 3,324,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,414,735. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $204.04 and a 1-year high of $382.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $350.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $301.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 23.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,774,001.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total value of $3,101,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,774,001.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,769 shares of company stock worth $11,508,906 over the last quarter. Company 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.