Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Position Cut by Woodstock Corp

Woodstock Corp lowered its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Woodstock Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,686,000 after purchasing an additional 10,212 shares during the period. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,591,000 after acquiring an additional 6,212 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 43.0% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after acquiring an additional 4,181 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 25.8% during the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.6 %

CAT opened at $380.85 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $183.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $380.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $366.36. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $276.94 and a twelve month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.52 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $380.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. The trade was a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.