Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stock Position Increased by Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV

Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV boosted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the quarter. Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Creative Planning increased its stake in Caterpillar by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 227,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $89,142,000 after buying an additional 3,772 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 20,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,055,000 after buying an additional 2,950 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,996,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Goldstone Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $619,000. Finally, KFA Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $304,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock opened at $353.31 on Monday. 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 stock has a market cap of $170.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $372.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $372.14. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CAT. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.