Federated Hermes Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Federated Hermes Inc. trimmed its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 59.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,898 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 69,018 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $17,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Waterloo Capital L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Titleist Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 3,062 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,111,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 81,255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,477,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $94,000. Finally, Ted Buchan & Co raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Ted Buchan & Co now owns 2,711 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $983,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $373.20.

Caterpillar Trading Up 10.0 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $301.43 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $144.06 billion, a PE ratio of 13.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $336.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $368.44. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were 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 owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Company 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.