Fermata Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 1,831 Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Fermata Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,831 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $664,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in 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. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5.6% during the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $45,591,000 after purchasing an additional 6,212 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 43.0% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,437,000 after purchasing an additional 4,181 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,266 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $5.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $386.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,596,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,057,300. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $277.66 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $186.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $380.09 and a 200 day moving average of $366.76.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.52 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued 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 is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Truist Financial cut their price target on Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an "underperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $365.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $380.60.

Caterpillar 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.