Veracity Capital LLC Acquires 109 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Veracity Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Veracity Capital LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in Caterpillar by 52.5% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 17,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,812,000 after buying an additional 6,008 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 39.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 255,605 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,976,000 after purchasing an additional 71,788 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,108,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $702,431,000 after purchasing an additional 198,123 shares during the period. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $651,000. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 128,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,721,000 after buying an additional 913 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total transaction of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,906,356.84. This trade represents a 17.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $380.60.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $406.87 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $380.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $368.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $288.34 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The company had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

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.