Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 167,586 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 25.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 482,895 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 167,586 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.10% of Caterpillar worth $175,175,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on CAT. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $326.45 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $364.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $372.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.79, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Caterpillar 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.