GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. Invests $1.21 Million in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,208,000.

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

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.3 %

CAT stock traded up $3.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $293.82. The company had a trading volume of 2,716,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,639,101. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $327.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $363.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. 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 (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. As a group, research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target 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. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $361.64.

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.