Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Bought by Capital Management Associates Inc

Capital Management Associates Inc boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 101.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,674 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,848 shares during the period. Capital Management Associates Inc's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $805,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Victrix Investment Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,090,000. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $579,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 18.6% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 191,640 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $63,202,000 after buying an additional 30,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CAT. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $420.00 price objective (up previously from $370.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Melius upgraded Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $397.86.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Trading Up 2.0%

Caterpillar stock traded up $7.82 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $402.11. The company had a trading volume of 1,374,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,522,909. The firm has a market capitalization of $189.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.32. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.30 and a 12-month high of $418.50. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $355.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $347.25.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. This is a positive change from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.