Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stake Raised by V Square Quantitative Management LLC

V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 9,008 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CFC Planning Co LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $1,756,000. First Merchants Corp raised its position in Caterpillar by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 14,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,318,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,974 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $716,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Caterpillar by 30.8% in the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 106,073 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,479,000 after purchasing an additional 6,517 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.13.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.5 %

CAT opened at $353.97 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $374.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $371.81. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $307.05 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market cap of $170.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business 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 1.59%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.56%.

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.