Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Acquired by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 292,937 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,233 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $106,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,184,364,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $353,231,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 50,072.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,938,000 after purchasing an additional 803,166 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 1,278.6% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 440,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $154,367,000 after purchasing an additional 408,678 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,166,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $782,109,000 after buying an additional 318,891 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America lowered their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wedbush upgraded Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $361.64.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $293.82 on Monday. 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 company has a market cap of $140.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $327.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $363.58.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

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

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.