Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Bought by Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC

Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,645 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,685,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% in the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 334.8% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 130.0% during the fourth 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $362.61 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $175.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $375.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $371.86.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. The trade was a 3.51 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This trade represents 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. StockNews.com raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their price target on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.13.

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.