Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Short Interest Update

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,130,000 shares, a drop of 16.3% from the March 15th total of 9,710,000 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,810,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT traded down $7.95 during trading on Monday, reaching $284.90. The stock had a trading volume of 511,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,629,683. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The business has a 50-day moving average of $327.08 and a 200-day moving average of $363.58. Caterpillar has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $136.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.90, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on CAT. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $359.36.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.