Fortitude Family Office LLC Increases Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 51 shares during the quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $535,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,644 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $959,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 103.3% in the fourth quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 2,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after buying an additional 1,504 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 93.9% during the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,414 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,238,000 after buying an additional 1,653 shares during the period. Peoples Bank KS grew its stake in Caterpillar by 79.6% in the 4th quarter. Peoples Bank KS now owns 2,708 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $982,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 2,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $787,000 after acquiring an additional 752 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $360.75 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $382.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $365.00. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $276.94 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $174.17 billion, a PE ratio of 16.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group increased their target price on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $454.00 to $471.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $384.33.

About Caterpillar

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.