Americana Partners LLC Buys 6,667 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Americana Partners LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 38.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,806 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,667 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,987,206,000 after acquiring an additional 67,148 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,501,554,000 after acquiring an additional 205,012 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 1.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,418,793,000 after acquiring an additional 64,452 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,227,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,262,290,000 after acquiring an additional 8,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,356,930,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131,276 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $353.31 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $372.47 and a 200 day moving average of $372.14. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 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 EPS 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 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 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on CAT. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.