Legal & General Group Plc Decreases Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Legal & General Group Plc cut its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 25.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,591,815 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 900,218 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $940,207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $285,382,000 after acquiring an additional 5,371 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 55.0% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,032 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,053,000 after acquiring an additional 6,400 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 27,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,581,000 after acquiring an additional 856 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 47.0% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 169 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northeast Financial Consultants Inc bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 5.9 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $287.57 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $269.43 and a one year high of $418.50. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $346.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $371.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.03, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. As a group, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson increased their price target 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. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar 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.