Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Bought by Isthmus Partners LLC

Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 40.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $565,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rebalance LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Rebalance LLC now owns 947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. REDW Wealth LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. REDW Wealth LLC now owns 2,337 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $848,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 263,026 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $95,415,000 after buying an additional 3,317 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 11,927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,327,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Enterprise Financial Services Corp increased its position in Caterpillar by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 1,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $492,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on 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 owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $350.97 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market cap of $167.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $363.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $372.98. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $307.05 and a 52 week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

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.