Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $701,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,356,930,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131,276 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,874,000 after purchasing an additional 249,155 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,501,554,000 after buying an additional 205,012 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $305,908,000 after buying an additional 200,210 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 106.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 317,828 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $124,309,000 after buying an additional 163,725 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE CAT opened at $390.29 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $297.45 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $188.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a fifty day moving average of $381.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $370.23.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CAT. Morgan Stanley lowered Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $384.60.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,906,356.84. The trade was a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389 in the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.