Range Financial Group LLC Acquires 752 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Range Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 53.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 752 shares during the period. Range Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 42.9% during the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its position in Caterpillar by 47.2% during the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $454.00 to $471.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $384.33.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded down $0.96 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $363.24. The stock had a trading volume of 1,607,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,597,117. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $383.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $364.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $276.94 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $175.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.13.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.52 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 26.15%.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This trade represents a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. This trade represents a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,868 shares of company stock valued at $9,679,489 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.