Vega Investment Solutions Invests $434,000 in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,197 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $434,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CAT. West Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at $230,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $805,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Victrix Investment Advisors acquired a new position in Caterpillar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,090,000. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 34,837 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,637,000 after acquiring an additional 963 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Caterpillar by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,724 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,076,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Raymond James upgraded Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Caterpillar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $309.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Six 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $375.33.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE CAT traded down $0.78 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $350.74. The company had a trading volume of 621,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,628,622. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.30 and a 1-year high of $418.50. The firm's 50 day moving average is $318.65 and its 200-day moving average is $351.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The business's revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.60 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st were paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Caterpillar's dividend 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.