Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Purchases 963 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,837 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 963 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $12,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Goldstone Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the third quarter worth about $619,000. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.3% during the third quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,761 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $689,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 6.6% during the third quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,159 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,018,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 9.4% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 111,400 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $43,571,000 after acquiring an additional 9,572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the third quarter worth about $3,911,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $383.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly 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. Insiders have sold 18,704 shares of company stock valued at $7,226,584 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded down $9.31 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $339.84. 3,219,133 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,416,826. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 week 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $369.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $372.24.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Caterpillar Company Profile

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.