Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Trims Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lowered its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,022,418 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,680 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 0.21% of Caterpillar worth $370,893,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:CAT traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $306.96. 2,189,607 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,620,106. The business has a 50-day moving average of $321.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $360.15. 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 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.71 billion, a PE ratio of 13.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business's 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 sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $361.75.

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.