Capital World Investors Has $5.95 Billion Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Capital World Investors reduced its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,399,502 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,086,756 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for 0.9% of Capital World Investors' portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Capital World Investors owned about 3.40% of Caterpillar worth $5,949,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on CAT. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $325.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $359.36.

Caterpillar Trading Up 2.1 %

Caterpillar stock traded up $6.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $297.37. 1,340,703 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,634,968. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $324.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $362.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.47, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, 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 transaction of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.