Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stock Position Increased by Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Bank grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $919,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,704 shares of company stock worth $7,226,584 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CAT. Truist Financial decreased 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. Citigroup lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT opened at $348.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $166.72 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $370.18 and a 200-day moving average of $372.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $307.05 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

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.