Harbor Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Harbor Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,856 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar makes up about 0.4% of Harbor Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Harbor Group Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,762,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of CAT. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,686,000 after acquiring an additional 10,212 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 5.6% during the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,591,000 after buying an additional 6,212 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 43.0% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after buying an additional 4,181 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter worth approximately $204,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. UBS Group raised their price target on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $380.60.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $380.85 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $276.94 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $380.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $366.36. The company has a market cap of $183.87 billion, a PE ratio of 17.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.52 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total value of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,079,968. This represents a 20.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.