MFA Wealth Services Acquires Shares of 1,761 Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

MFA Wealth Services bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,761 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $639,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 52.5% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 17,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,812,000 after buying an additional 6,008 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 39.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 255,605 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,976,000 after acquiring an additional 71,788 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,108,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $702,431,000 after purchasing an additional 198,123 shares during the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth approximately $651,000. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% during the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 128,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,721,000 after purchasing an additional 913 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $380.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. This represents a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $406.87 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $380.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $368.38. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $288.34 and a one year high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 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 business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.52 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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 paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Caterpillar Company 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.