Welch Group LLC Acquires 703 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Welch Group LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,814 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 703 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $13,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 130.0% in the 4th quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $381.00.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $361.62 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $307.05 and a one year high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $174.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $380.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $371.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.56%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total transaction of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,079,968. The trade was a 20.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,236 shares of company stock worth $12,102,371. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.