Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.

Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. decreased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 25.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,414 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 479 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 6.0% in the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 72,873 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $19,894,000 after acquiring an additional 4,154 shares during the period. Telemus Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 5.0% in the third quarter. Telemus Capital LLC now owns 1,762 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. WealthShield Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 16.5% in the third quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 1,449 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.4% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,707 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,104,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 25.7% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 326,142 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $87,722,000 after acquiring an additional 66,767 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE CAT traded up $5.40 on Monday, reaching $342.15. 1,653,389 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,509,182. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $352.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $304.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.60 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. Analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Truist Financial started coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.35.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were purchased 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.