552 Shares in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Bought by Prasad Wealth Partners LLC

Prasad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 552 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,746,000. Edge Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 3,410 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 9,305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,375,000 after purchasing an additional 979 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 21,946 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,961,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 27.4% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 10,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,752,000 after buying an additional 2,225 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. The trade was a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,704 shares of company stock valued at $7,226,584 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $338.65 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $307.05 and a one year high of $418.50. The company has a market cap of $161.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $368.73 and a 200-day moving average of $373.05.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wedbush upgraded Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

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.