ST Germain D J Co. Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 29.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,910 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 47.2% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $454.00 to $471.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $384.33.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $351.01 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $382.16 and a 200 day moving average of $365.15. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $276.94 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market cap of $169.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.27, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted 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 business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.52 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 26.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 ninety days, insiders sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Company 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.