Smithfield Trust Co Trims Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Smithfield Trust Co lowered its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,112 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 35 shares during the quarter. Smithfield Trust Co’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,591,000 after acquiring an additional 6,212 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth about $204,000. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Square Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 33.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC now owns 16,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,485,000 after acquiring an additional 4,182 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup cut their target price on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays upped their price target on Caterpillar from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 3,185 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.36, for a total transaction of $1,119,081.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,750,181.12. The trade was a 8.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $338.59 per share, for a total transaction of $33,859.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,272.78. The trade was a 3.65 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,774 shares of company stock valued at $8,233,034 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $384.66 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $384.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $355.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $241.81 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.71 billion, a PE ratio of 17.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st were given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

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.