Global Wealth Strategies & Associates Acquires 134 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 81.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 298 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates’ holdings in Caterpillar were worth $108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. SMART Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 75.9% in the 3rd quarter. SMART Wealth LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter worth $209,000. Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at $800,000. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the third quarter worth about $225,000. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,132,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:CAT traded down $2.94 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $359.82. 915,078 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,527,875. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $276.94 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $385.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $363.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. This represents a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total transaction of $543,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,079,968. The trade was a 20.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on CAT. StockNews.com raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $454.00 to $471.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $384.33.

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.