Caterpillar Inc. $CAT Shares Sold by Ellsworth Advisors LLC

Ellsworth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 93.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 828 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 11,633 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter valued at $2,165,899,000. Groupe la Francaise boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 82.0% during the 2nd quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 27,246 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,820,000 after purchasing an additional 12,278 shares during the last quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 132.9% during the second quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $748,000 after buying an additional 1,099 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 155.9% in the third quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 47,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,014,000 after buying an additional 28,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 9.9% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 78,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,037,000 after buying an additional 7,125 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $612.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $729.00 target price (up from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays increased their target price on Caterpillar from $485.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $616.00.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $583.09 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $272.88 billion, a PE ratio of 29.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.57. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $568.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $477.54. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $627.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 31.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total transaction of $6,034,465.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,874,576.40. This trade represents a 55.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 14,638 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.36, for a total transaction of $8,231,825.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 80,209 shares in the company, valued at $45,106,333.24. This represents a 15.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 61,895 shares of company stock valued at $34,007,516. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.