Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by State of Tennessee Department of Treasury

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lessened its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 178,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,890 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $64,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $285,382,000 after buying an additional 5,371 shares during the period. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 47.2% in the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at $854,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 13,317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,208,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 26.6% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,012 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,569,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $361.64.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.3 %

CAT stock opened at $293.82 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $327.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $363.58. The company has a market capitalization of $140.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

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.