Nuveen Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,198,389 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 151,226 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $797,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wedbush upgraded Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $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. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $352.58 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $317.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $354.64. The company has a market cap of $166.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly 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). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The company had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

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.