Insider Selling: Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) CFO Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT traded up $5.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $385.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,418,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,944,908. The company has a market cap of $186.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.90, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $380.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $366.36. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $277.66 and a 52-week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.52 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on CAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $380.60.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CAT. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 301.4% in the second quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,091 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,321 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co increased its stake in Caterpillar by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 9,880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,291,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $523,000. Altrius Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 13,772 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,588,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% during the second quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 2,277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.