Modus Advisors LLC Buys 79 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Modus Advisors LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 12,136 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Caterpillar comprises about 1.4% of Modus Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Modus Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,356,930,000 after buying an additional 2,131,276 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd increased its position in Caterpillar by 3,319.7% during the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,606,000 after purchasing an additional 266,969 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $99,874,000 after purchasing an additional 249,155 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,501,554,000 after buying an additional 205,012 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in Caterpillar by 34.4% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $305,908,000 after buying an additional 200,210 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,977.21. This represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total value of $543,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,079,968. This represents a 20.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Caterpillar from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $454.00 to $471.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $384.33.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $1.61 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $361.38. 216,809 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 992,471. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $384.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $363.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.13. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $276.94 and a one year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

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.