The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Decreases Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 423,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 40,513 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $165,623,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC increased its stake in 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 valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust increased its stake in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $407.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $389.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $356.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $246.01 and a one year high of $418.50. The company has a market cap of $196.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total value of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,079,968. This represents a 20.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,774 shares of company stock valued at $8,233,034 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.33.

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.