Short Interest in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Drops By 9.6%

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,060,000 shares, a drop of 9.6% from the March 15th total of 14,440,000 shares. Approximately 2.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,430,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.4 days.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,886,667.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,769 shares of company stock worth $14,509,306. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 130,632.5% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,784,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,343,859,000 after purchasing an additional 9,776,533 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,660,560,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth approximately $433,134,000. Imprint Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 24,982.9% during the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 1,538,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $153,808,000 after acquiring an additional 1,531,952 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 28,603.5% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 1,488,813 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $301.94.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of CAT stock traded up $4.33 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $369.96. 340,461 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,409,714. The stock has a market cap of $184.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $342.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $295.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $204.04 and a 12 month high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $17.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.86 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 21.33 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.82%.

Caterpillar Company 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.