Sterling Capital Management LLC Sells 12,835 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sterling Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 75.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,216 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 12,835 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James raised shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial cut their price target on Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $430.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.87.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $298.07 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $142.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $332.75 and its 200 day moving average is $366.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.