7,435 Shares in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Acquired by Vista Investment Partners II LLC

Vista Investment Partners II LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 7,435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,697,000. Caterpillar comprises approximately 1.6% of Vista Investment Partners II LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CAT. Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This trade represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm’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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of CAT stock opened at $350.97 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $363.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $372.98. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $307.05 and a one year high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $167.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (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%. Analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.