Centaurus Financial Inc. Sells 886 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Centaurus Financial Inc. lessened its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 25.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 886 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $773,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,583,372,000 after purchasing an additional 96,479 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,408,481,000 after purchasing an additional 179,908 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 111,384 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,830,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,864,823,000 after purchasing an additional 47,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,038,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,648,431,000 after purchasing an additional 781,111 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on CAT. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $323.35.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded down $4.89 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $321.47. 4,195,333 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,954,731. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $347.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $324.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $223.76 and a one year high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,943.82. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total value of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.