Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Buys 2,038 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 255,575 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned 0.05% of Caterpillar worth $84,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $356.79 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $168.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $327.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $347.86.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. Caterpillar's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This is a positive change from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CAT. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Caterpillar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $309.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Baird R W raised shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $372.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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