Americana Partners LLC Increases Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Americana Partners LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 38.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,806 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,667 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 42.9% in the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 130.0% during the fourth quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,704 shares of company stock worth $7,226,584 in the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of CAT stock traded down $4.16 on Thursday, reaching $348.84. The company had a trading volume of 2,171,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,392,472. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a 50-day moving average of $370.18 and a 200-day moving average of $372.40. The stock has a market cap of $166.72 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 25.56%.

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.