Cadence Bank Purchases 1,055 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Cadence Bank raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 99.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,114 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,055 shares during the quarter. Cadence Bank's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Alexis Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $1,223,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Caterpillar by 384.6% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 273,366 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $99,166,000 after purchasing an additional 216,960 shares during the period. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $1,208,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its position in Caterpillar by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 378 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Square LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 1,802 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $654,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on CAT. Raymond James upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wedbush upgraded Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Caterpillar from $430.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given 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 $359.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.8 %

CAT stock traded up $5.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $296.31. The stock had a trading volume of 1,063,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,633,805. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $324.47 and a 200 day moving average of $362.29.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.