Howard Bailey Securities LLC Invests $264,000 in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Howard Bailey Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning boosted its position in Caterpillar by 1.7% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 227,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $89,142,000 after purchasing an additional 3,772 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4.2% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 282,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $110,303,000 after buying an additional 11,487 shares during the last quarter. Oxinas Partners Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at about $217,000. ERn Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $220,000. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the third quarter worth $201,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $383.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,116,085.21. This trade represents a 3.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT opened at $352.10 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $375.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $371.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.99 billion, a PE ratio of 15.95, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $307.05 and a 52-week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors 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 yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.