Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Centiva Capital LP

Centiva Capital LP decreased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 66.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,163 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 10,215 shares during the quarter. Centiva Capital LP's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James upgraded Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $377.83.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 3.6%

NYSE CAT traded up $12.37 on Tuesday, reaching $354.92. The stock had a trading volume of 1,622,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,627,627. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $167.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $316.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $354.65.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The company had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.60 EPS. Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 27.49%.

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.