Essex Financial Services Inc. Purchases 278 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,441 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.35.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock traded down $1.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $333.24. The stock had a trading volume of 1,630,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,502,129. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $351.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $302.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a market cap of $166.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.17. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.60 and a 52-week high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 23.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,886,667.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,769 shares of company stock valued at $11,508,906. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.