Sapient Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 12,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,755,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. W Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 2,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $693,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,310,000 after buying an additional 3,558 shares during the period. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $271,000. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 238,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $70,429,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horan Capital Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $225,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.35.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE CAT traded up $1.31 on Friday, reaching $336.75. The company had a trading volume of 1,977,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,750,444. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $205.60 and a 1 year high of $382.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $351.89 and a 200-day moving average of $303.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.69 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.19.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,886,667.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,886,667.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.