Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Stake Boosted by Telemus Capital LLC

Telemus Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,801 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Telemus Capital LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in Caterpillar in the fourth quarter worth $1,678,000. Keeler Thomas Management LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Keeler Thomas Management LLC now owns 16,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,866,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP now owns 2,703 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $799,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its holdings in Caterpillar by 38.4% in the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 1,829 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $357.62 on Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12-month low of $204.04 and a 12-month high of $382.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $178.60 billion, a PE ratio of 17.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $347.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $298.90.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.47. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 56.99%. The firm had revenue of $17.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.86 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid 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 1.45%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 25.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $300.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered shares of Caterpillar from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $338.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,693,812.06. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $323.37 per share, for a total transaction of $113,179.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.10, for a total transaction of $3,101,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 45,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,509,306. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.