Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,599 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 430 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,021,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $919,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Channel Wealth LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $394.01 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $299.93 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.27, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a 50-day moving average of $381.43 and a 200-day moving average of $370.62.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CAT. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $384.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,906,356.84. The trade was a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389 over the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar 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.