Jones Kertz & Associates Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Jones Kertz & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 11,699 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,702,000. Caterpillar accounts for 3.4% of Jones Kertz & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 64.6% during the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,787 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,461,000 after purchasing an additional 3,056 shares during the period. Legacy Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 976 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $559,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,729,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Bolthouse Investments LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $224,000. Finally, Sterling Financial Planning Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $213,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $798.76 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $736.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $638.56. The stock has a market cap of $371.66 billion, a PE ratio of 42.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $282.46 and a 1 year high of $801.77.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 45.76% and a net margin of 13.14%.The firm had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.14 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 22.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 32.09%.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, insider Rodney Michael Shurman sold 2,278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $759.61, for a total transaction of $1,730,391.58. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,096,117.23. The trade was a 61.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 39,138 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $681.08, for a total transaction of $26,656,109.04. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 43,350 shares in the company, valued at $29,524,818. This trade represents a 47.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 125,950 shares of company stock worth $88,577,390. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $640.00 to $790.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Williams Trading set a $825.00 target price on Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $765.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $735.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $786.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $757.55.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off?highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.