Berger Financial Group Inc Buys 43 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Berger Financial Group Inc grew its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,891 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $361.75.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $306.33 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $146.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $321.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $360.15.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

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.