First Pacific Financial Increases Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

First Pacific Financial raised its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 128.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,402 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 788 shares during the quarter. First Pacific Financial’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $509,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the second quarter worth $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 42.9% during the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 47.2% during the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 2nd quarter valued at $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $380.85 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $183.87 billion, a PE ratio of 17.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $276.94 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $380.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $366.36.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. Caterpillar’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $471.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $380.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,171,646.75. The trade was a 15.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

About Caterpillar

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.