Sovran Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 2,083 Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,083 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased 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. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $99,874,000 after purchasing an additional 249,155 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 36,168.5% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,361,000 after purchasing an additional 226,415 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,501,554,000 after purchasing an additional 205,012 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 34.4% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $305,908,000 after purchasing an additional 200,210 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI upgraded Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price 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. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.13.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $362.61 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $175.07 billion, a PE ratio of 16.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $375.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $371.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $307.05 and a 52-week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 yield of 1.56%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,714,323.35. The trade was a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.