Legacy Financial Group LLC Purchases Shares of 1,182 Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $429,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,686,000 after acquiring an additional 10,212 shares during the period. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 5.6% during the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,591,000 after purchasing an additional 6,212 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 43.0% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,437,000 after purchasing an additional 4,181 shares during the period. Cadinha & Co. LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $11,084,000. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter worth approximately $204,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $407.95 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $196.96 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $381.07 and its 200-day moving average is $369.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $293.13 and a 52 week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $380.60.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total value of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,079,968. The trade was a 20.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.