Weaver Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Weaver Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 46.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,819 shares during the quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 42.9% during the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 130.0% during the fourth quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. The trade was a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 28,936 shares of company stock worth $11,558,971 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. DA Davidson increased their target price on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup increased their target price on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $379.50.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $362.21 on Wednesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $307.05 and a one year high of $418.50. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $380.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $371.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company has a market cap of $174.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.41, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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

About Caterpillar

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.