Natixis Sells 95,010 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Natixis trimmed its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 90.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,055 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 95,010 shares during the period. Natixis’ holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James raised shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $430.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $359.36.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $284.31 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $325.73 and a 200 day moving average of $362.79. The company has a market cap of $135.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.88, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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, sell-side analysts forecast 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. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 25.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired 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 owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.