Hartford Investment Management Co. Trims Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Hartford Investment Management Co. cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,845 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 680 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $10,827,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT raised its position in Caterpillar by 334.8% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 130.0% during the fourth quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value 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. The trade was a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $362.61 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $175.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $375.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $371.86.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.13.

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.