Zullo Investment Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Zullo Investment Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,897 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Zullo Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $688,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Goldstone Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at approximately $619,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 111,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,571,000 after buying an additional 9,572 shares during the last quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 732 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 8.9% in the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,672,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank increased its stake in Caterpillar by 249.7% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 14,267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,580,000 after acquiring an additional 10,187 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $353.26 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $307.05 and a one year high of $418.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $370.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $372.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.55 billion, a PE ratio of 16.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. On average, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $13,714,323.35. This trade represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,704 shares of company stock valued at $7,226,584 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson upped their target price on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.