Ritholtz Wealth Management Boosts Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 25.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,583 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,940 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% in the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its position in Caterpillar by 47.2% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 156 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of CAT stock traded up $5.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $386.03. 2,596,820 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,057,300. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $380.09 and a 200 day moving average of $366.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $277.66 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The firm has a market cap of $186.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.52 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,906,356.84. This represents a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389 in the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $380.60.

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.