Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC Grows Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $613,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. CNB Bank raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. CNB Bank now owns 5,921 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,148,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 3,291 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,194,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 14,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,380,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $609,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RDA Financial Network increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 2,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of CAT traded up $2.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $383.20. 522,192 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,864,209. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $185.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $380.24 and its 200-day moving average is $366.36. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $277.66 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.52 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $380.60.

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.