United Capital Financial Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,888 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,281 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $18,097,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $16,980,629,000 after acquiring an additional 284,366 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,790,841,000 after buying an additional 236,315 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,294,505,000 after acquiring an additional 129,143 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $2,184,364,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Caterpillar by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,289,101 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,193,154,000 after purchasing an additional 61,723 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $430.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $359.36.
View Our Latest Research Report on CAT
Caterpillar Stock Down 2.6 %
Shares of CAT traded down $7.51 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $285.33. The company had a trading volume of 835,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,631,118. The stock has a market cap of $136.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company's 50 day moving average price is $327.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $363.58. 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 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $418.50.
Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.
Caterpillar Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 25.56%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
About Caterpillar
(
Free Report)
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.
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