Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Acquired by United Community Bank

United Community Bank increased its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,671 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the quarter. Caterpillar accounts for 1.1% of United Community Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. United Community Bank’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 334.8% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $350.97 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $363.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $372.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.80.

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.