Nicolet Bankshares Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Nicolet Bankshares Inc. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 6.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 214 shares during the quarter. Nicolet Bankshares Inc.’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Caterpillar by 43,447.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 3,721,693 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 2,723.1% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,414,280 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $466,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364,183 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at about $391,788,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,483,937,000 after buying an additional 724,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,940,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,429,416,000 after purchasing an additional 312,878 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.70, for a total value of $902,649.70. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,605,586.40. This represents a 20.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $952,840.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,835,970. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

CAT stock opened at $432.35 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $407.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $358.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.55 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $267.30 and a one year high of $441.15.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 48.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.99 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st were issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 30.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $331.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $450.87.

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.