Graypoint LLC Lowers Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Graypoint LLC lowered its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,666 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 42 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,686,000 after purchasing an additional 10,212 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,591,000 after acquiring an additional 6,212 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,437,000 after purchasing an additional 4,181 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at $204,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,233,000 after buying an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on CAT. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $454.00 to $471.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $384.33.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock traded down $10.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $351.01. The stock had a trading volume of 2,773,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,830,496. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $382.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $365.00. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $276.94 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.27, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total value of $543,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at $2,079,968. The trade was a 20.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.