Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. Has $239,000 Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. grew its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 281.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 610 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 4,181 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,393,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Accel Wealth Management grew its stake in Caterpillar by 11.3% in the second quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 1,107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,442,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $959,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Management Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Management Partners LLC now owns 3,614 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 6,279 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.59, for a total value of $2,565,536.61. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,714,323.35. This trade represents a 15.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $394.98 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $255.57 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $392.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $358.94. The firm has a market cap of $190.70 billion, a PE ratio of 18.31, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.10. 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 (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.52 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 26.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $399.00 to $456.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $372.19.

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.