Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Acquired by Optas LLC

Optas LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,372 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Optas LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $498,000 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. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 130.0% in the 4th quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. The trade was a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,236 shares of company stock worth $12,102,371 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $361.62 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $380.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $371.17.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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 is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $381.00.

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.