Legacy Capital Group California Inc. Sells 1,312 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Legacy Capital Group California Inc. lowered its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 24.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,981 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,312 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,686,000 after buying an additional 10,212 shares during the period. West Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $230,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 43.0% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after acquiring an additional 4,181 shares during the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $11,084,000. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,414,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $348.84 on Friday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $370.18 and its 200-day moving average is $372.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.72 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,704 shares of company stock worth $7,226,584. Insiders own 0.29% 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.