Northern Financial Advisors Inc Purchases 319 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Northern Financial Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,196 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. Caterpillar accounts for 1.3% of Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 53.6% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,674 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,408,000 after acquiring an additional 7,565 shares during the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 15,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,544,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $594,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 10,416 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,080,000 after buying an additional 1,515 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $413,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at $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, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 approximately $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Truist Financial started coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target for the company. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $323.35.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT traded down $1.02 on Wednesday, hitting $343.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 819,448 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,483,740. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $352.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $304.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $205.60 and a 12 month high of $382.01. The firm has a market cap of $168.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.19.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. Analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.79 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 23.48%.

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.