Main Street Research LLC Acquires 1,464 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Main Street Research LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,464 shares during the period. Caterpillar comprises approximately 2.0% of Main Street Research LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Main Street Research LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $25,517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 130,632.5% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,784,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,343,859,000 after acquiring an additional 9,776,533 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $1,175,255,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth about $433,134,000. Imprint Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 24,982.9% during the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 1,538,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $153,808,000 after purchasing an additional 1,531,952 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 28,603.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,494,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,417,360,000 after buying an additional 1,488,813 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $216.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Evercore ISI downgraded Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.56.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE CAT traded down $3.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $360.63. 1,104,755 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,417,092. The company has a market capitalization of $180.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.17. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $204.04 and a 12 month high of $382.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $343.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $295.74.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The company had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.33 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.82%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,774,001.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.