Ethic Inc. Raises Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Ethic Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 27.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,099 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,388 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $20,713,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded down $2.61 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $349.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,180,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,792,177. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The company has a market cap of $164.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $317.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $354.64.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The business's revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company's stock, 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on CAT. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $396.00 price objective (up from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush upgraded Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James raised shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $377.83.

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.