Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Buys 12,756 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 39.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 45,239 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,756 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $16,411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its position in Caterpillar by 334.8% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 130.0% in the fourth quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CAT. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.13.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $363.84 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $376.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $371.29. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $307.05 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market cap of $175.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.56%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. The trade was a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.