National Pension Service Cuts Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• National Pension Service reduced its Caterpillar stake by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 46,248 shares and ending with 979,008 shares worth about $560.8 million.
• Several Caterpillar insiders sold shares recently, including a major sale by insider Bob De Lange and CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield; insiders sold 98,273 shares total over the last 90 days.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on CAT, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $923.14, while Caterpillar also beat quarterly earnings expectations and reported 22.2% revenue growth year over year.

National Pension Service trimmed its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 979,008 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 46,248 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.21% of Caterpillar worth $560,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 220.0% during the fourth quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. IFS Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 56 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 140.0% during the fourth quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC now owns 60 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 24,222 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.92, for a total value of $22,354,968.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 86,029 shares in the company, valued at $79,397,884.68. This trade represents a 21.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total transaction of $14,399,860.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 52,935 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,631,913.85. This trade represents a 22.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 98,273 shares of company stock valued at $89,439,960 over the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $930.00 to $989.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial set a $1,043.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $650.00 to $845.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Williams Trading set a $825.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $923.14.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $887.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $339.50 and a one year high of $931.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $807.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $701.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $408.56 billion, a PE ratio of 44.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.63.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 48.21%. The business had revenue of $17.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.53 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.25 earnings per share. Caterpillar's quarterly revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th were issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.06%.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company's product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.

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