Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 331 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Wrapmanager Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. now owns 4,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,714,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 24.5% in the 4th quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 1,648 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $598,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 21,333 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,739,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 35.3% in the fourth quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 7,511 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,725,000 after purchasing an additional 1,961 shares during the period. Finally, Prasad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $200,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was 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 directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 18,704 shares of company stock worth $7,226,584. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.4 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $338.65 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $368.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $373.05. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

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.