Narwhal Capital Management Boosts Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Narwhal Capital Management grew its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,235 shares during the period. Narwhal Capital Management’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $9,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 130.0% in the fourth quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,977.21. The trade was a 3.51 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley cut Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $380.60.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $407.95 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $196.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $381.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $369.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $293.13 and a 12-month high of $418.50.

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 company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

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.