Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Insider Jason Kaiser Sells 2,425 Shares of Stock

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $353.26 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50-day moving average of $370.89 and a 200 day moving average of $372.54. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors 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 1.60%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust raised its stake in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Bank boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $919,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on CAT. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

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.