Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Director Buys $36,557.00 in Stock

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Gerald Johnson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, December 4th, Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of $398.57 per share, for a total transaction of $39,857.00.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.4 %

CAT opened at $363.84 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $377.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $371.18. The company has a market cap of $175.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.49, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.12. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $307.05 and a one year high of $418.50. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.13.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,213,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,987,206,000 after acquiring an additional 67,148 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,294,505,000 after purchasing an additional 129,143 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,627,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,418,793,000 after buying an additional 64,452 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,289,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,193,154,000 after buying an additional 61,723 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its position in Caterpillar by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,166,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $782,109,000 after acquiring an additional 318,891 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.