Clearstead Trust LLC Raises Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Clearstead Trust LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,098 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CAT. SYM FINANCIAL Corp raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,057 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. River Global Investors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,732,000. Kerntke Otto McGlone Wealth Management Group acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $202,000. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 282.1% in the fourth quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,502 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,627,000 after purchasing an additional 4,062 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 464,813 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $136,047,000 after purchasing an additional 66,691 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented 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. TD Cowen increased their price target on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut shares of Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and upped their price target for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $323.35.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,693,812.06. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock traded up $1.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $336.75. The company had a trading volume of 1,977,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,750,444. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.69 billion, a PE ratio of 15.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $351.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $303.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $205.60 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. Analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.48%.

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.