Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Gleason Group Inc.

Gleason Group Inc. decreased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 13.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,649 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 404 shares during the period. Gleason Group Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $874,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $353.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.02, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $320.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $349.91. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The business’s revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 27.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $396.00 price objective (up previously from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $372.92.

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.