Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Sells 27,609 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV decreased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 19.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 113,350 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 27,609 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $41,119,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,184,364,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 69.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,060,730,000 after buying an additional 1,196,861 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $353,231,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 50,072.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $291,938,000 after acquiring an additional 803,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,483,937,000 after purchasing an additional 724,477 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $300.00 to $309.00 in a research report on Thursday. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $396.00 price target (up previously from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $366.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 3.1 %

CAT stock traded up $9.78 during trading on Friday, reaching $323.74. The stock had a trading volume of 3,764,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,631,022. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $418.50. The company's 50 day moving average is $318.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $357.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $154.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 25.56%.

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.