Blankinship & Foster LLC Makes New $512,000 Investment in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Blankinship & Foster LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,411 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $512,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $231,686,000 after buying an additional 10,212 shares in the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $230,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 43.0% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,437,000 after purchasing an additional 4,181 shares during the period. Cadinha & Co. LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $11,084,000. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% during 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. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on CAT shares. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $383.80.

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Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT traded up $9.96 during trading on Friday, reaching $350.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,061,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,503,377. The firm has a market cap of $167.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $363.11 and a 200-day moving average of $372.98.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business'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 value of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company's stock, 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company 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.