Berkshire Bank Sells 160 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Berkshire Bank decreased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,502 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 160 shares during the period. Berkshire Bank’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,721,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust grew its position in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $919,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Channel Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% in the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $707,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $394.60 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $297.45 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.51 billion, a PE ratio of 18.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $381.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $369.79.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. This represents a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $380.60.

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.