Adero Partners LLC Grows Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Adero Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 892 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Adero Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 42.9% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 130.0% in the 4th quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $359.04 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $173.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.27, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $379.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $371.31. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.45 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 paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday. Bank of America lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $379.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.