Zhang Financial LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Zhang Financial LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,158 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 736 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% during the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.2% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $919,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Channel Wealth LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $707,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $380.60.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $5.48 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $386.03. 2,596,820 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,595,788. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $277.66 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a market cap 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $380.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $367.29.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 is 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389 in the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.