CX Institutional Lowers Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

CX Institutional lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,395 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,393 shares during the period. CX Institutional’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $9,213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,686,000 after purchasing an additional 10,212 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5.6% in the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,591,000 after acquiring an additional 6,212 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after acquiring an additional 4,181 shares during the period. Cadinha & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $11,084,000. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at $204,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $380.60.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,356.84. The trade was a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389 over the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.1 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $405.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $380.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $368.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $293.13 and a one year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

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.