Evernest Financial Advisors LLC Has $1.46 Million Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Evernest Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,034 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 305 shares during the quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 2.6% during the third quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank increased its position in Caterpillar by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $919,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Channel Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $533,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 value 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. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,906,356.84. The trade was a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,900 shares of company stock worth $13,111,601. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $375.98 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $381.68 and its 200 day moving average is $370.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $299.93 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $295.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $384.60.

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.