Forbes J M & Co. LLP Raises Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Forbes J M & Co. LLP grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 30.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 394 shares during the quarter. Forbes J M & Co. LLP’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,356,930,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131,276 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% during the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,874,000 after purchasing an additional 249,155 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 36,168.5% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $82,361,000 after buying an additional 226,415 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,501,554,000 after buying an additional 205,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 34.4% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $305,908,000 after acquiring an additional 200,210 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, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.13.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.4 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $363.84 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $377.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $371.18. The company has a market capitalization of $175.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. As a group, equities analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

Caterpillar 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.