Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Purchased by Sunflower Bank N.A.

Sunflower Bank N.A. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,271 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Caterpillar by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,686,000 after buying an additional 10,212 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 5.6% in the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,591,000 after acquiring an additional 6,212 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 43.0% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after purchasing an additional 4,181 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $204,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 25.8% in the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,233,000 after buying an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Caterpillar from $299.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America boosted 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $384.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares in the company, valued at $642,332.28. The trade was a 36.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel M. Dickinson sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.00, for a total transaction of $543,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,976 shares in the company, valued at $2,079,968. The trade was a 20.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $11.82 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $362.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,617,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,944,909. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $382.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $365.69. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $276.94 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.40.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Caterpillar Company 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.