Sentry LLC Sells 2,490 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sentry LLC cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,490 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar comprises 1.3% of Sentry LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Sentry LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CAT. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 39,534.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,356,930,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131,276 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 4,018.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,874,000 after buying an additional 249,155 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,501,554,000 after buying an additional 205,012 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $305,908,000 after buying an additional 200,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 106.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 317,828 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $124,309,000 after buying an additional 163,725 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on CAT shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial cut their target price on Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $384.60.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $394.01 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a market capitalization of $190.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $299.93 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $381.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $370.62.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid 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 1.43%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 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.