Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Holdings Increased by Wealth Effects LLC

Wealth Effects LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Wealth Effects LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 8,063 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,925,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491 shares during the period. MBE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 36.3% during the fourth quarter. MBE Wealth Management LLC now owns 717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 80.8% in the fourth quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $509,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 665 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, W Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 2,127 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $772,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on 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 target 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 upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $380.60.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at $13,714,323.35. This trade represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT opened at $394.60 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $381.07 and a 200-day moving average of $369.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $297.45 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company has a market cap of $190.51 billion, a PE ratio of 18.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

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.