Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Acquired by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 292,937 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,233 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.06% of Caterpillar worth $106,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,184,364,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $353,231,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 50,072.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,938,000 after purchasing an additional 803,166 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1,278.6% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 440,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $154,367,000 after buying an additional 408,678 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,166,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $782,109,000 after buying an additional 318,891 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $293.82 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $140.42 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $327.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $363.58. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $361.64.

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.