Ethic Inc. Boosts Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Ethic Inc. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 27.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,099 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 12,388 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $20,713,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $285,382,000 after acquiring an additional 5,371 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 93.9% during the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,414 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,238,000 after buying an additional 1,653 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 103.3% during the fourth quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 2,960 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,074,000 after buying an additional 1,504 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,644 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $959,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,474 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $535,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded Caterpillar from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $309.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $396.00 target price (up previously from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $370.67.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.4%

CAT traded up $1.22 on Friday, reaching $325.47. 1,646,220 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,623,458. 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 cap of $153.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $316.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $354.96. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.60 earnings per share. Caterpillar's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

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.