North Star Asset Management Inc. Has $820,000 Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

North Star Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 82.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,261 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,025 shares during the quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $820,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CAT. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $734,000. McMill Wealth Management bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $476,000. Vega Investment Solutions bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $434,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Helium Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT stock traded down $1.83 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $349.68. 1,921,494 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,635,153. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The stock has a market cap of $164.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock's 50-day moving average is $318.65 and its 200-day moving average is $351.78.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The company had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.60 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Caterpillar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $309.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group raised shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $375.33.

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.