Vident Advisory LLC Grows Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,153 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 3,830 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $11,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 688 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,541,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Caterpillar by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,373 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,586,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Caterpillar by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 857 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America cut their price objective on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush raised Caterpillar to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James raised Caterpillar from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised Caterpillar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $309.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Six research 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, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $375.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAT traded up $2.52 on Thursday, hitting $345.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,174,058 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,641,296. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $318.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $353.46. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $267.30 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $162.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.63, a PEG 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.

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). The business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st were given a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.49%.

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.