Calamos Advisors LLC Purchases 1,635 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Calamos Advisors LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 143,269 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,635 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $47,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Curat Global LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director owned 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $420.00 price objective (up from $370.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $380.83.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of CAT traded down $6.32 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $391.54. The company had a trading volume of 3,012,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,526,772. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $351.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $346.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.38. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52-week low of $267.30 and a 52-week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. This is an increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

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.