Rathbones Group PLC Sells 28,790 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Rathbones Group PLC cut its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 199,111 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 28,790 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $95,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marvin & Palmer Associates Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,356,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 27.2% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 323,720 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $154,463,000 after acquiring an additional 69,249 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 15.8% during the third quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 419,436 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $200,134,000 after acquiring an additional 57,347 shares during the period. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,628,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 47.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 2,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,127,000 after acquiring an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 10,671 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $680.45, for a total value of $7,261,081.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,001,197.95. This trade represents a 20.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 39,138 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $681.08, for a total transaction of $26,656,109.04. Following the transaction, the insider owned 43,350 shares in the company, valued at $29,524,818. This represents a 47.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 135,950 shares of company stock valued at $94,327,990 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Caterpillar from $587.00 to $658.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $678.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $805.00 target price on Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $724.81.

Key Headlines Impacting Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst price?target upgrades from Jefferies and Oppenheimer lift longer?term outlooks — Jefferies raised its target to $825 and Oppenheimer to $817, both keeping buy/outperform views, signaling near?20% upside versus current levels. Jefferies Adjusts Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Recent fundamentals remain supportive: Caterpillar beat revenue and EPS expectations in its last report (strong margins and revenue growth), which underpins analyst bullishness and medium?term earnings expectations. Analyst Upgrade Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Joseph Creed sold 2,500 shares (filed with the SEC), a small reduction in insider holdings that may be interpreted as routine liquidity rather than a signal of deteriorating fundamentals. SEC Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Positive PR and brand buzz from a viral AI image and Caterpillar’s real pickup concept give the company free publicity and may support equipment?brand equity, but have limited immediate revenue impact. Caterpillar Built a Yellow Pickup
• Negative Sentiment: Large intraday losses in CAT helped drive sharp Dow declines and reflect heavy profit?taking and macro risk sentiment; that market stress is the main reason the stock is down today. Dow Falls Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Critical commentary on valuation labels Caterpillar as a high?quality but highly valued cyclical, which could amplify downside if macro or industrial demand weakens. Valuation Critique
• Negative Sentiment: Market coverage noting the stock’s day?over?day dip highlights short?term momentum weakness and heavier intraday volume, contributing to negative price action. Why CAT Dipped

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT opened at $681.31 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $681.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $575.30. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $789.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $317.01 billion, a PE ratio of 36.20, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.54.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.76% and a net margin of 13.14%.The firm had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th were paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.09%.

About Caterpillar

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.