Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Purchased by IVC Wealth Advisors LLC

IVC Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,253 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Caterpillar by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $805,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Victrix Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $2,090,000. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 34,837 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,637,000 after buying an additional 963 shares during the period. Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after acquiring an additional 730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MFG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,308,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $372.92.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $347.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $319.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $351.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $418.50.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate 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.