Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Prudential PLC

Prudential PLC cut its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,958 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,793 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James raised shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $373.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of CAT stock traded up $4.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $293.35. 3,197,039 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,625,986. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The business's fifty day moving average is $333.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $367.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.56%.

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.