653 Shares in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Acquired by UP Strategic Wealth Investment Advisors LLC

UP Strategic Wealth Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,184,364,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Caterpillar by 69.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,060,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,861 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $353,231,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $291,938,000 after purchasing an additional 803,166 shares during the period. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1,278.6% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 440,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $154,367,000 after buying an additional 408,678 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, Director Gerald Johnson bought 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $365.57 per share, with a total value of $36,557.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,116,085.21. The trade was a 3.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,742.50. This trade represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of CAT opened at $306.89 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $322.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $361.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market cap of $146.67 billion, a PE ratio of 13.91, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 25.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on CAT shares. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup cut their price target on Caterpillar from $430.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $359.36.

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.