Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Acquired by Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC

Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 74.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,320 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,682 shares during the quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $16,980,629,000 after acquiring an additional 284,366 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 2.3% in the 4th 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 grew its position in Caterpillar by 1.4% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 129,143 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Caterpillar by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,483,937,000 after acquiring an additional 724,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $2,184,364,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on CAT. Wall Street Zen downgraded Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Oppenheimer raised Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $372.92.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $349.64. 1,616,260 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,608,544. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $319.50 and a 200 day moving average of $350.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $164.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.60 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st were paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 27.49%.

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.