Stratos Investment Management LLC Acquires 1,192 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Stratos Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 35.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,553 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,192 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $1,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $805,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Victrix Investment Advisors bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,090,000. Pacific Point Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $579,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew 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 worth $63,202,000 after acquiring an additional 30,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 5.8% during the first quarter. Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on CAT. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $335.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Baird R W raised Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $395.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Six 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $397.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan bought 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT traded up $8.42 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $402.71. 3,099,408 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,529,416. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market cap of $189.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.38. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $355.40 and a 200-day moving average of $347.25.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued 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). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 53.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.60 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is a boost from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. Caterpillar's payout ratio is 27.49%.

Caterpillar Company 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.