Flputnam Investment Management Co. Trims Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. trimmed its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,105 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 508 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC now owns 830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. ACT Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. ACT Wealth Management LLC now owns 877 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 1,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,916 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Caterpillar from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total value of $3,000,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,317 shares in the company, valued at $20,197,792.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total value of $3,000,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 67,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,197,792.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,769 shares of company stock worth $14,509,306. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock opened at $359.65 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $344.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $296.35. The company has a market capitalization of $179.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.86, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.17. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $204.04 and a 1-year high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.06 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.82%.

About Caterpillar

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.