Hickory Point Bank & Trust Acquires New Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Hickory Point Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $963,000. Caterpillar accounts for approximately 0.9% of Hickory Point Bank & Trust’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Eads & Heald Wealth Management raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the third quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 6,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,399,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 6,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,420,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 8,044 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,146,000 after buying an additional 1,581 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 25.4% in the third quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 835 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 22.2% during the third quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC now owns 2,464 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $964,000 after buying an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $343.90 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $365.99 and its 200-day moving average is $372.95. 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 company has a market capitalization of $164.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $307.05 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on CAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

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.