Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Aspiriant LLC

Aspiriant LLC cut its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 52 shares during the quarter. Aspiriant LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $895,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,686,000 after acquiring an additional 10,212 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,591,000 after buying an additional 6,212 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,437,000 after buying an additional 4,181 shares during the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,084,000. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $204,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.4 %

CAT stock opened at $386.03 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $186.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $277.66 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $380.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $367.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. 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 (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. 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. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $380.60.

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.