Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 12,972 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Cerity Partners LLC increased its Caterpillar stake by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, buying 12,972 more shares and bringing its total holdings to 270,926 shares valued at about $155.3 million.
• Caterpillar reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $5.54 versus the $4.65 estimate and revenue of $17.42 billion, which was up 22.2% year over year.
• Analysts remain mostly bullish on CAT, with 16 Buy ratings and nine Hold ratings and an average price target of $933.27, while the stock recently traded near $915.27.

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 270,926 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,972 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.06% of Caterpillar worth $155,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 220.0% during the fourth quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. IFS Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 56 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 140.0% during the fourth quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC now owns 60 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $915.27 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $836.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $718.16. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $353.92 and a 52-week high of $946.83. The firm has a market cap of $421.57 billion, a PE ratio of 45.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.21% and a net margin of 13.33%.The business had revenue of $17.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.25 EPS. Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, April 20th were given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 20th. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. Truist Financial set a $1,043.00 price target on Caterpillar in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wolfe Research raised their price target on Caterpillar from $670.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Caterpillar from $860.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $900.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Caterpillar from $930.00 to $989.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $933.27.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total value of $14,399,860.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,935 shares in the company, valued at $48,631,913.85. This trade represents a 22.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 16,283 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $916.80, for a total value of $14,928,254.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 46,041 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $42,210,388.80. This represents a 26.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 95,773 shares of company stock valued at $87,642,635. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company's product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.

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