Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Acquires 1,873 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 229,295 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,873 shares during the quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $83,179,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CAT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,184,364,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $353,231,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 50,072.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $291,938,000 after acquiring an additional 803,166 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 1,278.6% during the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 440,641 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $154,367,000 after acquiring an additional 408,678 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,166,087 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $782,109,000 after purchasing an additional 318,891 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CAT. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective 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. Finally, Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $365.87.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction 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 $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.7 %

Caterpillar stock traded up $4.85 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $298.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,209,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,622,672. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company has a market cap of $142.57 billion, a PE ratio of 13.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. 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's 50 day moving average is $333.97 and its 200 day moving average is $367.00.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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 $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.