1,694 Shares in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Acquired by Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC

Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,694 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $615,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $16,980,629,000 after acquiring an additional 284,366 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,790,841,000 after acquiring an additional 236,315 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,081,775 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,294,505,000 after purchasing an additional 129,143 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Caterpillar by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,483,937,000 after purchasing an additional 724,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $2,184,364,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CAT. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Baird R W upgraded Caterpillar from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com cut Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wedbush raised shares of Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $370.67.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT traded up $1.22 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $325.47. The company had a trading volume of 1,646,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,621,805. The company has a market capitalization of $155.55 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $316.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $355.39.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The firm 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 company earned $5.60 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value 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 represents a 27.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

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.