Options Solutions LLC Buys 160 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Options Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the quarter. Options Solutions LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Rational Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the third quarter worth $42,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter worth $3,293,000. Truepoint Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter worth $2,198,000. Banco de Sabadell S.A lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 148.4% during the third quarter. Banco de Sabadell S.A now owns 616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 3.3% during the third quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 9,736 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,658,000 after buying an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. HSBC lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $323.35.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total value of $7,797,194.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at $25,380,943.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total value of $7,797,194.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,115 shares in the company, valued at $25,380,943.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 bought at an average price of $337.39 per share, for a total transaction of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,943.82. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $321.61 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $157.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $347.82 and its 200-day moving average is $323.53. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.76 and a 1-year high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 23.48%.

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.