Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Fmr LLC

FMR LLC reduced its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,742,500 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 111,446 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned about 0.98% of Caterpillar worth $1,720,390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson upped their target price on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $373.20.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT traded up $4.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $293.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,197,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,625,986. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The firm's 50 day moving average is $333.97 and its 200-day moving average is $367.17. The firm has a market cap of $140.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents 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 insiders.

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.