abrdn plc Lowers Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

abrdn plc decreased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 294,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 22,014 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc owned approximately 0.06% of Caterpillar worth $106,912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 6.0% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 98,778 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,634,000 after buying an additional 5,584 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 33.1% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,983 shares in the last quarter. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 21.5% during the third quarter. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC now owns 1,132 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in Caterpillar by 16.5% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 7,486 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,928,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everpar Advisors LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 9.9% during the third quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $586,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total transaction of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at $2,079,968. This trade represents a 20.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,236 shares of company stock valued at $12,102,371 over the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CAT. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday. Bank of America reduced their target price on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $381.00.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $361.62 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $307.05 and a one year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $174.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $380.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $371.17.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.56%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.56%.

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.