Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Purchased by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,276,529 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 158,766 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.47% of Caterpillar worth $825,828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 635,750 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $231,686,000 after buying an additional 10,212 shares in the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $230,000. Cadinha & Co. LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $11,084,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,193 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,414,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $805,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on CAT shares. Baird R W upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $370.67.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAT traded down $0.82 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $320.07. 1,555,482 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,626,881. The firm has a market cap of $152.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $317.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $356.53.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.