Benjamin Edwards Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,372 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $997,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 8,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,445,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Mechanics Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 3,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,408,481,000 after purchasing an additional 179,908 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation increased its stake in Caterpillar by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 6,850 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,034,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC now owns 104,384 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,863,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total value of $6,899,070.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 61,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,886,667.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded up $1.42 on Friday, hitting $336.86. 1,976,360 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,519,125. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $205.60 and a 52-week high of $382.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market cap of $164.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.21, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $351.89 and its 200 day moving average is $303.11.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. Equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 23.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CAT. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI downgraded Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $210.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $323.35.

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.