Centerpoint Advisory Group Acquires Shares of 1,020 Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Centerpoint Advisory Group bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,020 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $370,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,686,000 after acquiring an additional 10,212 shares during the period. West Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in Caterpillar by 43.0% in 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 Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $11,084,000. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,414,000 after buying an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. The trade was a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. The trade was a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $353.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $372.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $371.96. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.01, a P/E/G 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 EPS 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 expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given 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 1.60%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI upgraded Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.13.

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.