First Horizon Advisors Inc. Lowers Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. cut its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,967 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 432 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Wagner Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Washington Trust Bank grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $919,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $339.84 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $162.42 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $368.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $372.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,704 shares of company stock worth $7,226,584 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.