Lincoln National Corp Has $4.54 Million Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Lincoln National Corp grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 15,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 145 shares during the quarter. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CAT shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Caterpillar from $255.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $293.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $357.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, HSBC increased their price target on Caterpillar from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $323.35.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan acquired 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $323.37 per share, with a total value of $113,179.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,693,812.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Lange Bob De sold 21,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.52, for a total transaction of $6,899,070.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 61,092 shares in the company, valued at $19,886,667.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 in the company, valued at $1,693,812.06. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.6 %

CAT traded up $5.40 during trading on Monday, reaching $342.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,653,389 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,509,182. Caterpillar Inc. has a one year low of $205.60 and a one year high of $382.01. The company has a market capitalization of $167.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $352.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $304.27.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.79% and a return on equity of 58.61%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.07 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 23.48%.

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.