Financial Perspectives Inc Raises Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Financial Perspectives Inc increased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,048 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,316,000. Ellenbecker Investment Group purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $266,000. Trust Co of Kansas acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $207,000. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 25,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,615,000 after acquiring an additional 2,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 21,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,485,000 after acquiring an additional 1,662 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total value of $3,000,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,317 shares in the company, valued at $20,197,792.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total transaction of $3,000,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 67,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,197,792.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.6 %

CAT stock traded up $5.78 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $363.39. 1,809,967 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,428,498. The company has a market capitalization of $181.48 billion, a PE ratio of 17.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $347.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $298.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $204.04 and a twelve month high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.06 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.86 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.56.

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.