First Horizon Corp Invests $2.50 Million in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,241 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,501,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CAT. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1,060.0% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 58 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $568.86 per share, for a total transaction of $170,658.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 7,947 shares in the company, valued at $4,520,730.42. This represents a 3.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 10,707 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,874,576.40. The trade was a 55.32% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 54,729 shares of company stock valued at $31,084,308 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $629.52 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $580.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $496.54. The company has a market cap of $294.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.57. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $630.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.17 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $408.00 to $569.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Caterpillar from $476.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $618.70.

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.