813 Shares in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Bought by Laraway Financial Advisors Inc

Laraway Financial Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 813 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Czech National Bank grew its stake in Caterpillar by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 104,681 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $37,974,000 after acquiring an additional 5,903 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 80.6% during the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,893 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $687,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,300,000. EWG Elevate Inc. acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $216,000. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 47.0% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 1,745 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $633,000 after buying an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total transaction of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock traded up $4.07 on Friday, reaching $353.88. The stock had a trading volume of 1,833,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,777,813. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. The firm's 50-day moving average is $317.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $354.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.60 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $375.50.

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.