Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Acquired by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 150,834 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,662 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $54,717,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,686,000 after acquiring an additional 10,212 shares in the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $230,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 43.0% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,437,000 after purchasing an additional 4,181 shares in the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $11,084,000. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. The trade was a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.4 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $363.84 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $377.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $371.18. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $307.05 and a twelve month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.13.

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.