West Michigan Advisors LLC Buys 320 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

West Michigan Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 15.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. West Michigan Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $845,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 334.8% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James upgraded Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.80.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of CAT opened at $343.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $164.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $365.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $372.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. On average, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 25.56%.

Caterpillar 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.