Evergreen Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.3 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $293.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $328.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $364.66.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly 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, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price target 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. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $361.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.