Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Purchased by Naviter Wealth LLC

Naviter Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 48.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,787 shares during the quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,097,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CAT. M&G PLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% during the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 42,988 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,808,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.8% during the third quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 1,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $682,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at about $282,000. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 18.6% during the third quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 976 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $285,382,000 after acquiring an additional 5,371 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT opened at $350.97 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $363.11 and its 200-day moving average is $372.57. The stock has a market cap of $167.74 billion, a PE ratio of 15.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. 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 twelve month low of $307.05 and a twelve month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts predict 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 1.61%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James raised shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.