Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Bought by Sonora Investment Management Group LLC

Sonora Investment Management Group LLC grew its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 498.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 15,797 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 13,158 shares during the quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,730,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,686,000 after buying an additional 10,212 shares in the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $230,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,591,000 after acquiring an additional 6,212 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its position in Caterpillar by 43.0% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,437,000 after acquiring an additional 4,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cadinha & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $11,084,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $375.98 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $299.93 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $181.52 billion, a PE ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $381.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $370.78.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $295.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three equities research 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $384.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total transaction of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at $2,079,968. This represents a 20.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,900 shares of company stock worth $13,111,601 over the last 90 days. 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.