Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Decreases Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 156 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $13,888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of CAT stock opened at $338.74 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $161.89 billion, a PE ratio of 15.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50-day moving average of $363.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $372.74. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $307.05 and a 1-year high of $418.50.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised 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, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

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.