Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Position Increased by Peoples Bank KS

Peoples Bank KS increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 79.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,708 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Peoples Bank KS’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $982,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5.6% during the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,591,000 after acquiring an additional 6,212 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in Caterpillar by 43.0% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 25.8% during the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,233,000 after buying an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Square Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 33.7% during the third quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC now owns 16,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,485,000 after buying an additional 4,182 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $363.24 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $276.94 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.37 billion, a PE ratio of 16.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $383.41 and its 200-day moving average is $365.06.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.52 EPS. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. This represents a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489 in the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI cut Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 1st. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $454.00 to $471.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $384.33.

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.