BankPlus Wealth Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

BankPlus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,352 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $490,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,686,000 after acquiring an additional 10,212 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC raised its position 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 worth $45,591,000 after buying an additional 6,212 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after acquiring an additional 4,181 shares during the period. West Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $230,000. Finally, Cadinha & Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $11,084,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was 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 directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. This trade represents a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on CAT shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. 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 has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $380.60.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $394.60 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $190.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $297.45 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $381.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $369.79.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

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.