PFG Investments LLC Makes New $1.82 Million Investment in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

PFG Investments LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 4,958 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,817,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,353,370 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $14,296,641,000 after acquiring an additional 129,216 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,029,953 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,583,372,000 after purchasing an additional 96,479 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,145,840 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,408,481,000 after purchasing an additional 179,908 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,962,809 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,900,847,000 after purchasing an additional 111,384 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,830,849 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,864,823,000 after purchasing an additional 47,258 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Caterpillar in a report on Monday, January 8th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Caterpillar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $293.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $310.83.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 4,575 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.80, for a total transaction of $1,508,835.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,741,725.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total value of $3,101,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,317 shares in the company, valued at $17,774,001.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 35,769 shares of company stock worth $11,508,906. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Shares of CAT stock traded up $5.38 on Friday, reaching $343.38. The stock had a trading volume of 3,324,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,414,735. The stock has a market cap of $171.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.17. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $204.04 and a 1 year high of $382.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $350.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $301.19.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.61% and a net margin of 16.79%. Equities research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.44 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.48%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CAT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.