Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC Acquires 910 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 22.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,042 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 910 shares during the quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,663,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $16,980,629,000 after purchasing an additional 284,366 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 worth $3,790,841,000 after purchasing an additional 236,315 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake 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 worth $3,294,505,000 after purchasing an additional 129,143 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake 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 worth $2,483,937,000 after purchasing an additional 724,477 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,184,364,000. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE CAT traded up $4.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $353.49. 1,605,025 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,597,720. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The company has a market cap of $166.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.02, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $320.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $349.91.

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

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st were issued a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Baird R W raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $372.92.

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.