Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Shares Purchased by Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC

Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 87.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,751 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,281 shares during the quarter. Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,809,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $16,980,629,000 after buying an additional 284,366 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,449,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,790,841,000 after buying an additional 236,315 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,483,937,000 after buying an additional 724,477 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth $2,184,364,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,940,391 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,429,416,000 after purchasing an additional 312,878 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the 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 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

CAT traded up $2.71 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $394.22. 1,996,008 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,524,689. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.38. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $353.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $346.92.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. This is a positive change 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 is presently 29.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CAT shares. DA Davidson upped 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. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $380.83.

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.