Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Lowers Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC decreased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 146 shares during the quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,541,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 39,534.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,356,930,000 after buying an additional 2,131,276 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd lifted its position in Caterpillar by 3,319.7% during the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,606,000 after acquiring an additional 266,969 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,874,000 after purchasing an additional 249,155 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,501,554,000 after purchasing an additional 205,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in Caterpillar by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $305,908,000 after buying an additional 200,210 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489 over the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $454.00 to $471.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Evercore ISI cut Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $384.33.

Caterpillar Stock Down 2.7 %

NYSE:CAT traded down $9.74 on Friday, reaching $351.33. The stock had a trading volume of 952,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,521,093. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $276.94 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $382.73 and a 200 day moving average of $365.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market cap of $169.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last 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 predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

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.