Tufton Capital Management Sells 1,325 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Tufton Capital Management reduced its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,007 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,325 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar makes up about 1.9% of Tufton Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $9,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 130,632.5% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,784,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,343,859,000 after buying an additional 9,776,533 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $1,175,255,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $433,134,000. Imprint Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 24,982.9% in the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 1,538,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $153,808,000 after purchasing an additional 1,531,952 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 28,603.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,494,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,417,360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,488,813 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of CAT stock traded up $4.49 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $362.81. 623,732 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,410,437. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $204.04 and a 12-month high of $382.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $345.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $296.78.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.86 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. One 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.56.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total transaction of $3,000,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 67,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,197,792.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total transaction of $3,000,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,197,792.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,886,667.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.