Virtus ETF Advisers LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

by · The Markets Daily

Virtus ETF Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT – Free Report) by 16.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,950 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the period. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 729,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $285,382,000 after buying an additional 5,371 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 47.2% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $854,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.9% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 13,317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,208,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 26.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,012 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,569,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson purchased 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $365.57 per share, for a total transaction of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CAT shares. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $438.00 to $389.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $359.36.

Get Our Latest Report on CAT

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $306.33 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $321.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $360.65. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.56%.

About Caterpillar

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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