Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Short Interest Update

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,130,000 shares, a decline of 16.3% from the March 15th total of 9,710,000 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,810,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $430.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $325.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $359.36.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $306.33. The company had a trading volume of 2,162,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,621,837. Caterpillar has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $146.40 billion, a PE ratio of 13.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $321.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $360.65.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 25.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated 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. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.