Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Acquired by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,133,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,686,000 after purchasing an additional 10,212 shares during the period. West Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 43.0% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,437,000 after buying an additional 4,181 shares during the period. Cadinha & Co. LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,084,000. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Caterpillar by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,414,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This represents a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of CAT opened at $326.45 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $307.05 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $364.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $372.98.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 25.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Bank of America decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus 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.