Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Sells 2,245 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. decreased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 34.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,245 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,296,641,000 after acquiring an additional 129,216 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,583,372,000 after acquiring an additional 96,479 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,408,481,000 after acquiring an additional 179,908 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,900,847,000 after acquiring an additional 111,384 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,830,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,864,823,000 after acquiring an additional 47,258 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded down $5.24 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $350.70. 2,698,753 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,473,414. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.19. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $205.60 and a one year high of $382.01. The company’s 50 day moving average is $356.94 and its 200 day moving average is $313.62.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total value of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at $25,380,943.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total value of $7,797,194.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and upped their price target for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $323.35.

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.