Great Lakes Retirement Inc. Boosts Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,363 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,308,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $2,196,000. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 13,305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,827,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Inc. OK increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 2,973 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,079,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Certuity LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 66.5% during the 4th quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 6,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,190,000 after buying an additional 2,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 7,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,648,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.2 %

CAT stock opened at $362.61 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $375.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $371.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.07 billion, a PE ratio of 16.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. 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 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued 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 yield of 1.56%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. The trade was a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.