Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Close Asset Management Ltd

Close Asset Management Ltd reduced its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 10.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,978 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 223 shares during the period. Close Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,184,364,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 43,447.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,230,239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,721,693 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 69.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,060,730,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196,861 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,483,937,000 after purchasing an additional 724,477 shares during the period. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1,278.6% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 440,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $154,367,000 after acquiring an additional 408,678 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $417.23 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $369.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $349.62. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $421.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market cap of $196.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.38.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $396.00 to $414.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Melius upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $419.33.

Caterpillar Company 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.