SouthState Corp Sells 169 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

SouthState Corp lessened its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 169 shares during the quarter. SouthState Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,069,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on CAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. 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 report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $323.35.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE CAT traded up $1.42 on Friday, reaching $336.86. The company had a trading volume of 1,976,360 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,519,125. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s fifty day moving average is $351.89 and its 200 day moving average is $303.11. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.60 and a 52-week high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.