McIlrath & Eck LLC Buys 30 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 30 shares during the quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $699,000 after buying an additional 535 shares during the period. Pacific Point Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth about $579,000. Hoese & Co LLP bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. New Hampshire Trust grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 12,048 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,371,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. increased its stake in Caterpillar by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. now owns 2,878 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,044,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CAT shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.33.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT opened at $349.01 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $164.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $318.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $353.54. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.60 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st were paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.