Stamos Capital Partners L.P. Has $2.76 Million Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Stamos Capital Partners L.P. increased its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 480 shares during the quarter. Stamos Capital Partners L.P.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,122 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,221,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 70,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,592,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth about $7,088,000. Optimize Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $226,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 34,267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,431,000 after purchasing an additional 6,829 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT stock opened at $293.35 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month 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 company has a market cap of $140.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s fifty day moving average is $333.97 and its 200-day moving average is $367.17.

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 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 25.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares in the company, 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush upgraded Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective 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. Two 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average 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.