J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,573 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 958 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $391,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 6,593 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,949,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the period. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $478,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 21,424 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,334,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, Davidson Trust Co. raised its position in Caterpillar by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Davidson Trust Co. now owns 1,177 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE CAT traded down $1.96 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $354.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,929,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,086,614. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $346.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $297.78. 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 1 year low of $204.04 and a 1 year high of $382.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $177.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.17.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. The business had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.41 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.82%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total value of $3,000,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 67,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,197,792.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at $1,693,812.06. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total transaction of $3,000,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,197,792.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI cut shares of Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and increased their target price for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.56.

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.