Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 714 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,987,206,000 after purchasing an additional 67,148 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,294,505,000 after purchasing an additional 129,143 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,418,793,000 after buying an additional 64,452 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,227,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,262,290,000 after buying an additional 8,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,531,208 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $555,461,000 after acquiring an additional 47,689 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction 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 approximately $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.1 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $343.90 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $307.05 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $365.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $372.95.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Sell-side analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. 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.