HTLF Bank Takes Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

HTLF Bank purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $428,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. BCK Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,580,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 65,643 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,634,000 after purchasing an additional 9,695 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter worth about $405,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 6.8% in the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 49,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,075,000 after acquiring an additional 2,076 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.9 %

Caterpillar stock opened at $354.68 on Friday. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $204.04 and a fifty-two week high of $382.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $177.13 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s 50-day moving average is $346.70 and its 200-day moving average is $297.78.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.06 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 15.41%. The business’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.86 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 25.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,693,812.06. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,317 shares in the company, valued at $17,774,001.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 350 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 45,769 shares of company stock worth $14,509,306 in the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Caterpillar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Evercore ISI lowered Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and upped their price target for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.56.

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.