Synergy Asset Management LLC Invests $988,000 in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,746 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $988,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,686,000 after acquiring an additional 10,212 shares during the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $230,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5.6% during the third quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 116,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,591,000 after buying an additional 6,212 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 43.0% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 13,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,437,000 after buying an additional 4,181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cadinha & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $11,084,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $394.01 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $190.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.27, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $299.93 and a one year high of $418.50. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $381.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $370.62.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. As a group, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $295.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $384.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total transaction of $368,788.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total value of $5,192,534.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 71,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,171,646.75. This trade represents a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.