Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,987,206,000 after acquiring an additional 67,148 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the third 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 last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,418,793,000 after purchasing an additional 64,452 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,227,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,262,290,000 after purchasing an additional 8,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,349,608 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $527,859,000 after purchasing an additional 30,609 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $342.37 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $307.05 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $163.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.51, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $367.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $373.10.

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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,704 shares of company stock worth $7,226,584 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on CAT. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James raised shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial cut their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wedbush upgraded Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

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.