Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Bought by Transcend Capital Advisors LLC

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,627 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,316,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC now owns 3,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,306,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 18,383 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,669,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $766,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the period. Compass Capital Corp MA ADV bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $957,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $175,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on CAT. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,704 shares of company stock valued at $7,226,584 in the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of CAT stock opened at $339.84 on Friday. 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 50-day simple moving average of $369.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $372.24. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $307.05 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

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.