Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Lowers Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lessened its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 199,561 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,732 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $72,393,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $285,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,371 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 103.3% in the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 2,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after buying an additional 1,504 shares during the period. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,644 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $959,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $535,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,294 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $469,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $325.47 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $155.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $316.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $355.39. 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 (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The company had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on CAT. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $396.00 price target (up from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $370.67.

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.