Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. Has $331,000 Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. lessened its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 39.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 585 shares during the period. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $326.45 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $156.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.79, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $364.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $372.98. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $307.05 and a twelve month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its 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%. Equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.56%.

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.