Baird Financial Group Inc. Purchases 1,836 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 403,017 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,836 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Caterpillar worth $146,198,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,184,364,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 69.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,060,730,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196,861 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $353,231,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar by 50,072.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $291,938,000 after purchasing an additional 803,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,483,937,000 after buying an additional 724,477 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock traded down $1.76 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $321.35. 1,722,052 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,628,526. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $317.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $356.53. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $153.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.56, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value 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. The trade was a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush upgraded shares of Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group upgraded Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $355.00 to $385.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup upped their price target on Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $370.67.

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.