PFG Investments LLC Has $2.02 Million Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

PFG Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 4.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,122 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 243 shares during the quarter. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $2,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $2,184,364,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 43,447.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,230,239,000 after buying an additional 3,721,693 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 69.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,060,730,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196,861 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $353,231,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 50,072.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,938,000 after purchasing an additional 803,166 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan purchased 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CAT. Morgan Stanley upgraded Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen cut Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.17.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT opened at $360.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $333.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $346.78. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 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 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

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.