Townsquare Capital LLC Purchases 6,829 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 24.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,267 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,829 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $12,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Raymond James raised shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $365.87.

Remove Ads

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT traded down $4.75 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $293.37. 3,610,257 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,634,450. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The company has a market cap of $140.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The firm's fifty day moving average is $332.75 and its 200 day moving average is $366.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.