Legacy Financial Group LLC Invests $429,000 in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $429,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 35.4% during the second quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 19.3% in the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Aviso Wealth Management boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 14.9% in the second quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 954 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 10.1% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 224,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $74,662,000 after acquiring an additional 20,535 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Doheny Asset Management CA boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 11.7% in the second quarter. Doheny Asset Management CA now owns 621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $207,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total transaction of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,079,968. This represents a 20.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were 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 $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock valued at $13,480,389. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $407.95 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $381.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $369.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $293.13 and a one year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The business had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.52 EPS. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $380.60.

About Caterpillar

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.