Morton Community Bank Has $542,000 Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Morton Community Bank increased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 76.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,493 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 647 shares during the period. Morton Community Bank’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $353,231,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 50,072.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $291,938,000 after buying an additional 803,166 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,166,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $782,109,000 after buying an additional 318,891 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,874,000 after buying an additional 249,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 36,168.5% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $350.97 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $167.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $363.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $372.98. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. As a group, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average price 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 approximately $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was 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 owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on CAT shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.