359 Shares in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Purchased by Cetera Trust Company N.A

Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $357.62 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $204.04 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $347.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $298.90. The company has a market cap of $178.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.76, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. The firm had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.56.

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.