Alta Advisers Ltd Raises Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Alta Advisers Ltd boosted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,591 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Alta Advisers Ltd’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Harvest Investment Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $767,000. Fayez Sarofim & Co boosted its position in Caterpillar by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 60,499 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,947,000 after buying an additional 4,697 shares during the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $18,353,000. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. now owns 941 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $341,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tradition Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $978,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CAT. Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $359.36.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $284.31 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $325.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $362.79. 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 (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

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.