Ledyard National Bank Has $4.60 Million Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Ledyard National Bank trimmed its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,674 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 609 shares during the quarter. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 39,534.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,356,930,000 after buying an additional 2,131,276 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,874,000 after acquiring an additional 249,155 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 205,012 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 34.4% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $305,908,000 after purchasing an additional 200,210 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 106.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 317,828 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $124,309,000 after purchasing an additional 163,725 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $365.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $176.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $307.05 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $378.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $371.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. As a group, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 25.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CAT. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.13.

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.