Townsquare Capital LLC Purchases 6,829 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 24.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,267 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,829 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $12,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $231,686,000 after acquiring an additional 10,212 shares during the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $230,000. Cadinha & Co. LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,084,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,414,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the period. Finally, Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $800,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CAT. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson raised their target price on Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $361.64.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT traded up $7.23 on Thursday, reaching $297.37. The stock had a trading volume of 1,594,917 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,632,704. 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 fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $329.84 and a 200-day moving average of $365.33. The company has a market capitalization of $142.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought 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 $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the firm'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 sale, the insider now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. The trade was 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.

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.