Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 13,082 shares during the quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $30,559,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,686,000 after acquiring an additional 10,212 shares during the period. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 5.6% during the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,591,000 after purchasing an additional 6,212 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 43.0% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,437,000 after buying an additional 4,181 shares during the period. Cadinha & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $11,084,000. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth about $204,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.4 %

CAT opened at $407.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $293.13 and a one year high of $418.50. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $380.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $368.65.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CAT. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $380.60.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.