Wedmont Private Capital Acquires 485 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,331 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 59.3% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,871,000 after purchasing an additional 14,382 shares in the last quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP lifted its position in Caterpillar by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 35,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,781,000 after buying an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.0% in the second quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,318,999 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $439,359,000 after buying an additional 12,979 shares in the last quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 6.1% during the second quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 3,220 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,073,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1,342.4% in the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 53,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,811,000 after acquiring an additional 49,762 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America increased their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $454.00 to $471.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $384.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,356.84. This represents a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. The trade was a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of CAT stock traded up $10.02 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $361.02. 1,282,572 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,742,725. The firm has a market cap of $174.30 billion, a PE ratio of 16.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company’s 50 day moving average is $382.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $365.69. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $276.94 and a 1 year high of $418.50.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

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.