Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Bought by Castleark Management LLC

Castleark Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2,029.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 27,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,180 shares during the quarter. Castleark Management LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $9,965,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. West Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $230,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,414,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $805,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Victrix Investment Advisors acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,090,000. Finally, Braun Stacey Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 34,837 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,637,000 after purchasing an additional 963 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of CAT stock opened at $349.01 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $318.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $353.54. The stock has a market cap of $164.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on CAT shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wedbush upgraded Caterpillar to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded Caterpillar from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $395.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.33.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

About Caterpillar

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.