Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stock Position Increased by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 702,300 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,206 shares during the period. Caterpillar makes up approximately 0.6% of ProShare Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Caterpillar worth $254,766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. 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 note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Six equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $375.50.

Insider Activity

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

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.1%

CAT stock traded up $3.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $353.60. 2,558,499 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,641,388. The company has a market capitalization of $166.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $317.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $353.91.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Caterpillar's revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.60 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

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.