AQR Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

AQR Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 30.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 88,745 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 39,591 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $32,193,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,541,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Wagner Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Channel Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $533,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,373 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,586,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.5 %

Caterpillar stock traded down $1.76 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $321.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,722,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,624,211. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $153.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $317.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $356.78.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on CAT. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $396.00 price target (up previously from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $370.67.

Caterpillar Company 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.