Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Has $2.27 Million Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,269 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 326 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $285,382,000 after acquiring an additional 5,371 shares in the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank increased its position in Caterpillar by 103.3% in the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 2,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 1,504 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,644 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $959,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $535,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,294 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $396.00 target price (up from $389.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $370.67.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.4 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $325.47 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $316.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $355.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $155.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.49%.

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.