Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Purchased by Scotia Capital Inc.

Scotia Capital Inc. grew its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,181 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,563 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $27,999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $301.43 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $144.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $336.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $368.44.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $373.20.

Caterpillar 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.