Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 108,478 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,448,169 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 108,478 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.74% of Caterpillar worth $2,442,890,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lam Group Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the first quarter worth $26,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 220.0% during the 4th quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 82.1% in the first quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 51 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 16,283 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $916.80, for a total transaction of $14,928,254.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,210,388.80. This trade represents a 26.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total value of $14,399,860.54. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 52,935 shares in the company, valued at $48,631,913.85. The trade was a 22.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,773 shares of company stock worth $87,642,635. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 2.1%

CAT opened at $914.19 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $421.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $931.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $790.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $403.32 and a 1-year high of $1,073.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.21% and a net margin of 13.33%.The business had revenue of $17.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on CAT. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $769.00 to $879.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $900.00 target price on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $930.00 to $989.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Caterpillar from $1,043.00 to $1,218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $980.57.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.