Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Calamos Advisors LLC

Calamos Advisors LLC lessened its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 154,239 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,014 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $45,604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AIA Group Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 29,837 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,822,000 after acquiring an additional 6,146 shares during the period. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 8,493 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,504,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 175,426 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $51,868,000 after purchasing an additional 8,102 shares in the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 14,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,179,000 after purchasing an additional 2,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 4,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 purchased at an average price of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.56.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded down $0.39 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $357.93. 1,920,134 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,428,504. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $204.04 and a 52 week high of $382.01. The company has a market cap of $178.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $345.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $296.78.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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

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.