278 Shares in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Purchased by Putney Financial Group LLC

Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 278 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $1,093,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Caterpillar by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 170,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,963,000 after purchasing an additional 22,457 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP grew its stake in Caterpillar by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 7,048 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,557,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. Griffith & Werner Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $310,000. Finally, North Star Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 82.9% in the fourth quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,261 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $820,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wedbush upgraded Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.33.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $343.63 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $161.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.57, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $318.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $352.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $418.50.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.