Bleakley Financial Group LLC Has $13.42 Million Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

Key Points

• Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its Caterpillar stake by 10% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 23,424 shares valued at about $13.4 million.
• Caterpillar beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter, reporting EPS of $5.54 versus $4.65 expected and revenue of $17.42 billion, up 22.2% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on CAT, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $923.14; several firms recently raised their targets, and the stock opened at $880.23.

Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,424 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 2,131 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $13,419,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Plancorp LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 2,777 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,591,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,192 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $683,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. KDT Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. KDT Advisors LLC now owns 657 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Sandy Cove Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $733,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CAT. Argus increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $820.00 to $990.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $940.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $650.00 to $845.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $923.14.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $880.23 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $795.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $694.03. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $336.24 and a 1-year high of $931.35. The company has a market cap of $405.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.81, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.63.

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

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 15,674 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $918.71, for a total transaction of $14,399,860.54. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 52,935 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,631,913.85. This represents a 22.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 5,642 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $883.03, for a total transaction of $4,982,055.26. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,594 shares in the company, valued at $8,471,789.82. This trade represents a 37.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 98,273 shares of company stock worth $89,439,960. 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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