Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stock Position Cut by Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators reduced its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,821 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 60 shares during the quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Caterpillar were worth $661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,987,206,000 after purchasing an additional 67,148 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,501,554,000 after buying an additional 205,012 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,418,793,000 after acquiring an additional 64,452 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,227,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,262,290,000 after acquiring an additional 8,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,349,608 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $527,859,000 after acquiring an additional 30,609 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business’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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,704 shares of company stock valued at $7,226,584. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on 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 objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $339.84 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $369.54 and its 200-day moving average is $372.24. 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 company has a market capitalization of $162.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $307.05 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio 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.