Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 10,990 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10,990 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $38,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Vima LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $512,720.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 20,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,807,820. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $512,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 20,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,807,820. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. 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, April 16th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $329.63.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $330.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $161.69 billion, a PE ratio of 14.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $338.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $330.09. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $223.76 and a one year high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. As a group, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 12th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.46%.

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.