Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Position Increased by NorthRock Partners LLC

NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 89.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,062 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,744 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,650,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CAT. Raymond James raised shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America cut their price target on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Baird R W raised Caterpillar from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.83.

Caterpillar Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $352.58 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $317.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $354.64. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The firm has a market cap of $166.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 27.49%.

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.