Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC Purchases 50 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 445 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $247,000. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,067,000. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $517,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Simmons Bank increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 37,687 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,264,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $947,875,000 after purchasing an additional 529,420 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. HSBC boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI lowered Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and upped their target price for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Caterpillar from $338.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.35.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $2.90 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $345.00. 1,943,358 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,503,008. The company has a market cap of $168.72 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $352.57 and a 200 day moving average of $304.94. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.60 and a 52-week high of $382.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.79 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,943.82. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,943.82. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% 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.