Syon Capital LLC Raises Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Syon Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 38.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,488 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,529 shares during the quarter. Syon Capital LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lyell Wealth Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 34,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,190,000 after buying an additional 1,271 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,589 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,427,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Hartline Investment Corp bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $202,000. Bfsg LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $81,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $446,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Down 7.0 %

NYSE CAT traded down $25.52 during trading on Thursday, reaching $338.00. 6,445,487 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,486,275. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $349.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $300.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $204.04 and a 12-month high of $382.01. The firm has a market cap of $168.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.17.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. The firm had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.86 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.82%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total value of $3,101,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,774,001.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,774,001.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,769 shares of company stock valued at $11,508,906 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI cut shares of Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have issued 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 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.