Advisors Preferred LLC Acquires New Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 6,300 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,083,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,688,000 after acquiring an additional 2,519 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $933,000. Interchange Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,137 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $413,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at $448,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $395.00 to $483.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $419.33.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.1%

CAT traded up $4.55 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $434.07. 2,207,764 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,516,496. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $377.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $351.88. The company has a market cap of $204.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.38. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $434.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is a positive change from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.