Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC Purchases 492 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 17.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 492 shares during the quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 2.6% during the third quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $919,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Channel Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.6% in the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $707,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.4 %

CAT opened at $386.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $186.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 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. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $277.66 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $380.09 and a 200-day moving average of $366.76.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on CAT. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $380.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389 in the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.