Financial Life Planners Takes Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 250,759 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $90,965,000 after purchasing an additional 4,976 shares during the last quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $523,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,826 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $662,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 15,139 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,492,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.8 %

CAT opened at $371.88 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $299.93 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $380.88 and a 200 day moving average of $371.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $179.54 billion, a PE ratio of 16.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.45 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. The trade was a 3.51 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,236 shares of company stock worth $12,102,371. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Truist Financial cut their target price on Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $382.13.

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.