Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Sold by Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. reduced its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 17,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 444 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar makes up approximately 1.4% of Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on CAT. Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $396.00 price target (up from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Baird R W raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $372.92.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $356.79 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $168.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $327.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $348.63.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.60 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 27.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

About Caterpillar

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.