Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Acquired by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 24,628 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,934,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Channel Wealth LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,373 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,586,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.4%

Caterpillar stock opened at $325.47 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $316.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $354.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $153.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.60 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $396.00 price objective (up from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America reduced their target price on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird raised Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $309.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $370.67.

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.