Whipplewood Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 99 Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 99 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT raised its position in Caterpillar by 334.8% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 42.9% in the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 130.0% in the 4th quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.80.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $343.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $307.05 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $365.99 and a 200 day moving average of $372.95.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Caterpillar Company 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.