State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Decreases Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury decreased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 178,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,890 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $64,757,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Wagner Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Channel Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,373 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,586,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.3 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $293.82 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $327.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $363.58. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted 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, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CAT. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $361.64.

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.