MCF Advisors LLC Purchases 59 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC now owns 830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $774,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. ACT Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. ACT Wealth Management LLC now owns 877 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its stake in Caterpillar by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 1,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $560,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:CAT traded up $2.31 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $356.97. 342,454 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,413,261. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $346.70 and a 200 day moving average of $298.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $178.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.17. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $204.04 and a 12 month high of $382.01.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. The firm had revenue of $17.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.86 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.41 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total value of $1,508,835.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total transaction of $3,000,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,197,792.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,769 shares of company stock worth $14,509,306. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut shares of Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.56.

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.