1,927 Shares in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Bought by Delta Financial Group Inc.

Delta Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $699,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $99,874,000 after buying an additional 249,155 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 36,168.5% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,361,000 after acquiring an additional 226,415 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,501,554,000 after purchasing an additional 205,012 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $305,908,000 after purchasing an additional 200,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter worth about $54,997,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 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 report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total transaction of $2,565,536.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,565 shares in the company, valued at $13,714,323.35. This represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,704 shares of company stock valued at $7,226,584. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Down 2.7 %

NYSE:CAT opened at $339.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $162.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $368.73 and a 200-day moving average of $372.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Equities analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (DPR) is 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.