Altrius Capital Management Inc Sells 334 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Altrius Capital Management Inc lessened its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 334 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar comprises approximately 1.4% of Altrius Capital Management Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Altrius Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,007,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,900,847,000 after acquiring an additional 111,384 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,830,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,864,823,000 after purchasing an additional 47,258 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,038,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,648,431,000 after purchasing an additional 781,111 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 28,603.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,494,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,417,360,000 after buying an additional 1,488,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 5.4% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,399,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $382,168,000 after buying an additional 71,344 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of CAT traded up $6.42 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $349.80. 2,171,359 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,492,829. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $205.60 and a 12 month high of $382.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $350.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $301.19. The company has a market capitalization of $174.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.48%.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 57,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,774,001.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total value 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 approximately $17,774,001.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 35,769 shares of company stock worth $11,508,906 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $316.88.

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.