Foster Group Inc. Purchases 217 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Foster Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 20.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $465,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC now owns 1,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $672,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. NorthStar Asset Management LLC NJ bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $369,000. Orca Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,190,000. BSW Wealth Partners boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 2,842 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,031,000 after buying an additional 813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 1,974 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $716,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target 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. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Caterpillar from $295.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $384.60.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT opened at $390.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $188.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s fifty day moving average is $381.27 and its 200-day moving average is $370.23. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $297.45 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.