BankPlus Trust Department Takes $1.75 Million Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,813 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,746,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the third quarter worth $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 334.8% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 130.0% in the 4th quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,704 shares of company stock valued at $7,226,584 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on CAT. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $339.84 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $162.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $307.05 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $368.73 and a 200 day moving average of $372.72.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.