Phoenix Financial Ltd. Raises Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Phoenix Financial Ltd. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 28.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $980,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,686,000 after buying an additional 10,212 shares in the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $230,000. Cadinha & Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $11,084,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,414,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the period. Finally, Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the third quarter worth about $800,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $288.56 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $335.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $367.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.07, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $430.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wedbush upgraded Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $373.20.

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.