Sfmg LLC Acquires 51 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sfmg LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Sfmg LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 2,160.0% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $388.00 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $259.28 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $392.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $360.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a market cap of $187.33 billion, a PE ratio of 18.02, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.10.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $374.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.