MML Investors Services LLC Buys 1,459 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 148,102 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,459 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $53,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 130,962 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $47,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,640 shares during the period. Ossiam lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1,133.7% during the 4th quarter. Ossiam now owns 4,688 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,701,000 after acquiring an additional 4,308 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 32,006 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $11,610,000 after acquiring an additional 1,204 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its stake in Caterpillar by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 158,615 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $57,539,000 after acquiring an additional 39,017 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Inc. CA raised its position in Caterpillar by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 129,649 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $47,031,000 after purchasing an additional 10,027 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CAT. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $359.36.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE CAT traded down $1.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $305.51. The stock had a trading volume of 1,199,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,636,286. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The firm has a market cap of $146.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $322.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $361.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, 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 value of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.