Transform Wealth LLC Buys 5,737 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Transform Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 44.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,743 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,737 shares during the quarter. Transform Wealth LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $6,799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 2.6% in the third quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $919,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Channel Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $533,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT traded up $13.44 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $398.05. The stock had a trading volume of 2,304,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,075,822. 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 firm has a market cap of $192.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $379.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $367.68. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $286.10 and a one year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.52 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors 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 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total transaction of $543,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,079,968. This trade represents a 20.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. This represents a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 90 days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Caterpillar from an "underperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $365.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.