Northern Trust Corp Sells 249,651 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp has reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 3.6%, selling 249,651 shares, leaving it with a total of 6,597,679 shares valued at approximately $2.18 billion.
• Insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of Caterpillar, decreasing his position by 20.02%, while after the transaction, he holds 8,632 shares worth about $3.61 million.
• Wall Street analysts have increased their price targets for Caterpillar, with JPMorgan Chase raising its target to $520, reflecting overall positive sentiment with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Northern Trust Corp lowered its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,597,679 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 249,651 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.40% of Caterpillar worth $2,175,915,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Victrix Investment Advisors bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,090,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Caterpillar by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,304,448 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,089,798,000 after buying an additional 15,347 shares in the last quarter. Pacific Point Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $579,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 18.6% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 191,640 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $63,202,000 after buying an additional 30,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 22,689 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,483,000 after buying an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $414.00 to $507.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Melius upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $450.87.

Caterpillar Trading Up 4.1%

CAT stock traded up $17.1140 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $435.0040. 3,783,903 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,782,068. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $441.15. The company has a market cap of $203.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.40. The stock's fifty day moving average is $404.15 and its 200-day moving average is $357.31.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.88 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%.Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.99 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st were given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's payout ratio is currently 30.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,835,970. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.