Allen Investment Management LLC Takes Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Allen Investment Management opened a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter, buying 1,913 shares valued at about $1.1 million.
• Analysts remain positive on Caterpillar, with 16 Buy ratings and nine Hold ratings; the consensus target price is $923.14, while some firms recently raised their price targets as high as $1,050 and $1,103.
• Caterpillar posted strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates with EPS of $5.54 on revenue of $17.42 billion, while insiders have also been selling shares in recent months.

Allen Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,913 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,096,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC now owns 997 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $571,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 71.6% in the fourth quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 923 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $529,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the period. Vantus Wealth LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $771,000. Spinnaker Trust raised its position in Caterpillar by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 19,515 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,180,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, One Capital Management LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. One Capital Management LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on CAT. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $769.00 to $879.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $960.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Williams Trading set a $825.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,103.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research note on Friday, February 6th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $923.14.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock opened at $865.95 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $339.50 and a twelve month high of $931.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $398.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.59. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $814.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $705.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.65 by $0.89. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.21% and a net margin of 13.33%.The business had revenue of $17.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.25 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 24.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, April 20th were paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 20th. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 30.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Denise C. Johnson sold 12,605 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $907.91, for a total value of $11,444,205.55. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 49,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,236,615.75. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 16,283 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $916.80, for a total transaction of $14,928,254.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 46,041 shares in the company, valued at $42,210,388.80. This trade represents a 26.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 98,273 shares of company stock worth $89,439,960 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company's product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.

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