CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Sells 23,665 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co decreased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 287,489 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 23,665 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.06% of Caterpillar worth $104,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $3.68 on Friday, hitting $293.82. The company had a trading volume of 2,716,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,639,101. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $327.08 and a 200-day moving average of $363.98.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $361.64.

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.