Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc.

Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. lessened its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,535 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 382 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for about 1.6% of Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,637,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Waterway Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $352,000. Farmers Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 4,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,328,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 16.7% in the third quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 367,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $100,370,000 after purchasing an additional 52,576 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,886,667.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,886,667.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CAT. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.56.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock traded down $0.63 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $362.62. 753,319 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,406,445. The firm has a market cap of $181.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.12, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $348.44 and a 200 day moving average of $299.59. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $204.04 and a 12 month high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The company had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.86 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 25.82%.

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.