Metis Global Partners LLC Has $8.56 Million Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 323 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $343.90 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $365.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $372.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $307.05 and a twelve month high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CAT shares. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James upgraded Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

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.