Silver Oak Securities Incorporated Raises Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,404 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,880 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for about 0.8% of Silver Oak Securities Incorporated’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $8,859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT raised its position in Caterpillar by 334.8% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 130.0% during the 4th quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % 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 Down 0.8 %

CAT stock opened at $359.04 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $379.09 and a 200-day moving average of $371.31. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $307.05 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CAT. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $379.50.

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.