SPC Financial Inc. Acquires 97 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

SPC Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,112 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 97 shares during the quarter. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CAT. United Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 7,668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,999,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Balentine LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 389.7% during the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 3,359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,314,000 after purchasing an additional 2,673 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 2,691 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Security Advisor Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth about $203,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $338.74 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $363.91 and a 200-day moving average of $372.74. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $307.05 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $161.89 billion, a PE ratio of 15.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by 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.