Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by abrdn plc

abrdn plc lessened its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 294,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 22,014 shares during the period. abrdn plc’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $106,912,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Czech National Bank increased its position in Caterpillar by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 98,778 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,634,000 after acquiring an additional 5,584 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,983 shares in the last quarter. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC now owns 1,132 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 7,486 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,928,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everpar Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $381.00.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $361.62 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $380.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $371.17. The firm has a market cap of $174.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.39, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total value of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,079,968. The trade was a 20.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 30,236 shares of company stock worth $12,102,371. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.