Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Acquired by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 9.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,064 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 10,695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,919,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.1% during the first quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $541,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.3% in the first quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on CAT. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. HSBC boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $329.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,380,943.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $337.39 per share, with a total value of $168,695.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,943.82. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.90, for a total transaction of $7,797,194.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 71,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,380,943.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of CAT traded down $3.00 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $326.06. 1,893,763 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,690,983. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $337.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $331.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.76 and a twelve month high of $382.01. The stock has a market cap of $159.46 billion, a PE ratio of 14.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.12.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.48%.

Caterpillar announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.