Parkside Financial Bank & Trust Increases Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,972 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fusion Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Fusion Capital LLC now owns 23,322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,460,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Linscomb Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,057,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 125,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,413,000 after buying an additional 4,247 shares during the period. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,762,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 50,072.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $291,938,000 after buying an additional 803,166 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.6 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $340.68 on Friday. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $366.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $372.66. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $162.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12.

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, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial reduced 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. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

About Caterpillar

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.