V Square Quantitative Management LLC Increases Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 9,008 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,686,000 after buying an additional 10,212 shares during the period. West Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 43.0% in 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 buying an additional 4,181 shares during the period. Cadinha & Co. LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,084,000. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,414,000 after buying an additional 871 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $353.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $170.90 billion, a PE ratio of 16.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $374.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $371.81.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.13.

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.