Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Cuts Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd cut its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 72.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,094 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,865 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Waterway Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $352,000. Farmers Trust Co. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 4,490 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,328,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 367,655 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $100,370,000 after buying an additional 52,576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of CAT traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $363.48. The stock had a trading volume of 3,030,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,436,106. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $349.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $300.03. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $204.04 and a twelve month high of $382.01. The firm has a market cap of $181.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The firm had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.86 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.32 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered Caterpillar from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $307.56.

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.