Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Moody National Bank Trust Division

Moody National Bank Trust Division lessened its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,904 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 297 shares during the quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,331 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,573,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $73,000. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,902,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the period. City State Bank grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. City State Bank now owns 4,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,651,000 after buying an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH grew its position in Caterpillar by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 11,491 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,168,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 3.0 %

Caterpillar stock traded up $10.61 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $361.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,304,011 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,752,452. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $382.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $365.69. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $276.94 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup upped their target price on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $454.00 to $471.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $384.33.

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.