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

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

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded down $1.56 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $358.32. 2,309,384 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,435,316. 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 cap of $178.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.17. Caterpillar has a fifty-two week low of $204.04 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $344.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $296.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.06 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.86 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar will post 21.33 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on CAT. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 350 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BCK Partners Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,580,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 17.3% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 65,643 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,634,000 after buying an additional 9,695 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management bought a new position in Caterpillar in the first quarter valued at approximately $405,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 6.8% in the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $577,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 49,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,075,000 after purchasing an additional 2,076 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

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.