Chicago Capital LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Chicago Capital LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,934 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 795 shares during the quarter. Chicago Capital LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $5,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,396,000. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 55,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,174,000 after buying an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 702 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE CAT opened at $362.21 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $170.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $328.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $347.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42.

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

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 29.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Baird R W raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. 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.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $372.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company 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.