Crews Bank & Trust Acquires Shares of 819 Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 819 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $297,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 2.6% during the third quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust raised its position in Caterpillar by 4.0% during the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.2% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $919,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Channel Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $533,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CAT shares. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Caterpillar from $295.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $384.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,906,356.84. This trade represents a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,900 shares of company stock valued at $13,111,601 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $375.98 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $381.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $370.78. The stock has a market cap of $181.52 billion, a PE ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $299.93 and a one year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. On average, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

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.