Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Purchased by Signet Financial Management LLC

Signet Financial Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,948 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Caterpillar accounts for 1.1% of Signet Financial Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Signet Financial Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the third 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 during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $3,501,554,000 after purchasing an additional 205,012 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,862,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,286,582,000 after purchasing an additional 75,973 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.8% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 64,452 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 0.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,227,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,262,290,000 after buying an additional 8,088 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. This represents a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of CAT traded up $11.82 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $362.82. The stock had a trading volume of 2,744,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,944,909. The company has a market cap of $175.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.82, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $382.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $365.69. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $276.94 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $454.00 to $471.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $384.33.

Caterpillar 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.