Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Short Interest Update

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,060,000 shares, a decrease of 9.6% from the March 15th total of 14,440,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,430,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.4 days. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 350 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,769 shares of company stock worth $14,509,306 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caterpillar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Waterway Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $352,000. Farmers Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 4,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 16.7% during the third quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 367,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $100,370,000 after purchasing an additional 52,576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock traded down $1.56 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $358.32. The stock had a trading volume of 2,309,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,435,316. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $204.04 and a 12 month high of $382.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $344.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $296.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $178.95 billion, a PE ratio of 17.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The business had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.86 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 21.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.56.

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.