Strategic Advisors LLC Acquires 730 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Strategic Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 14.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 730 shares during the quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,076,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $117,000. Monument Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 14,924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,414,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,650 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after buying an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its position in Caterpillar by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,656 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,503,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its position in Caterpillar by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 3,327 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,207,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.13.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $353.31 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $372.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $372.14. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $307.05 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The firm has a market cap of $170.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Caterpillar 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.