Clark Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Clark Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,398 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $667,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 51.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,688,000 after acquiring an additional 2,519 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 199.8% in the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,094,000 after acquiring an additional 18,376 shares during the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,000,000. Finally, Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 16,523 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,449,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $578.60 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $569.22 and a 200-day moving average of $479.88. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $627.50. The stock has a market cap of $270.77 billion, a PE ratio of 29.70, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.57.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The business had revenue of $17.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.17 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on CAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $506.00 to $581.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $729.00 price objective (up from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $616.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.44, for a total value of $5,714,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 55,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,692,062.40. The trade was a 15.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.60, for a total transaction of $6,034,465.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,649 shares in the company, valued at $4,874,576.40. The trade was a 55.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 61,895 shares of company stock worth $34,007,516. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar 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.