1,927 Shares in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Purchased by Delta Financial Group Inc.

Delta Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $699,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter worth $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 42.9% during the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC lifted 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 worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $339.84 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $307.05 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $368.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $372.40. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $162.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,704 shares of company stock worth $7,226,584 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.