Sandhill Capital Partners LLC Sells 1,678 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sandhill Capital Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,577 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,678 shares during the quarter. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Abbrea Capital LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC now owns 17,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,240,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 5,488 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529 shares during the period. Lyell Wealth Management LP boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 34,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,589 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,427,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the period. Finally, Hartline Investment Corp bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CAT. Truist Financial began coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Citigroup upped their target price on Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.56.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT traded down $25.28 on Thursday, reaching $338.24. The stock had a trading volume of 6,457,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,486,411. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $204.04 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $349.37 and a 200-day moving average of $300.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $168.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.17.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The business had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.86 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.32 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the sale, the insider now owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the sale, the insider now owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,769 shares of company stock worth $11,508,906. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.