Sunflower Bank N.A. Boosts Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sunflower Bank N.A. boosted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,271 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 116 shares during the quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $461,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,686,000 after purchasing an additional 10,212 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 5.6% during the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,591,000 after buying an additional 6,212 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 43.0% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after buying an additional 4,181 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 25.8% during the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,233,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 3.4 %

NYSE:CAT traded up $11.82 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $362.82. 2,617,605 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,944,909. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $276.94 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $382.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $365.69. The firm has a market cap of $175.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.82, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. This trade represents a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total value of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,079,968. This represents a 20.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489 in the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup raised their price target on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI upgraded Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $384.33.

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.