US Bancorp DE Sells 42,124 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

US Bancorp DE reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 7.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 559,041 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 42,124 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE owned about 0.11% of Caterpillar worth $218,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HM Payson & Co. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 140.1% in the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 130,709 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $51,123,000 after buying an additional 76,260 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 6.3% in the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,623 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,808,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Oak Harvest Investment Services lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 4.7% in the third quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 4,240 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,658,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 6.4% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 17,898 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,000,000 after buying an additional 1,071 shares during the period. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 15.8% during the third quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 2,860 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,107,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $321.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $357.56.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT traded down $3.04 during trading on Thursday, reaching $376.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,370,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,628,922. The firm has a market cap of $182.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $371.10 and a 200-day moving average of $351.14. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $403.60.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 59.88%. The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.52 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,347,825.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,975 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.48, for a total transaction of $1,018,878.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,347,825.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,842 shares in the company, valued at $962,272.78. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% 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.